Breath of the Inferno
by Primordial Vortex
Summary: [RE-WRITE PENDING] Magic is a strange and wondrous thing. It has no leaning or even understanding of good or evil. It merely is. Harry Potter fell off the grid half a decade before, after an explosion seared the earth of Privet Drive. No magic could find him. Their final hope led them to him, but what they found was...not quite what they expected. AU, Animagus, No Yaoi
1. King Under the Mountain

**So, let's get some early explanations and warnings out of the way first shall we?**

 **Warnings** **: This fic will NOT include any of the following: Unreasonable bashing, Overly-Helpful-GoblinsTM, sidelined-comic-relief-major-VillainsTM, The-One-True-Dark-Lord-DumbeldoreTM, or any of that other silly shit a whole lot of HP writers love to include.**

 **In addition, there will be no yaoi whatsoever. It's just not something I'm personally interested in.**

 **On the other hand, this will involve: Characters who are OP in terms of canon. The story is definitely AU. It certainly is NOT the Canon Universe. I won't pretend I'm not a huge fan of anime, video games, and big blockbuster action movies. While this is a Harry Potter fiction at its heart (and it is NOT a full crossover. Yet anyway. Maybe a possible sequel. Eventually.) It WILL contain elements from other fandoms. It's what I enjoy and what I enjoy is NOT "Oh I have the Elder Wand even if it's in your hand. Expelliarmus." *Voldemort dies.**

 **That said, I won't be focusing solely on Harry. He will be extremely powerful in his own ways, while others will be extremely powerful in theirs. Hopefully it'll lead to some good, fun showdowns. You can certainly expect that Voldemort will tear chunks out of his hide the first time they fight for real. There will also be some clichés. Frankly, at this point it's probably impossible to avoid them all.**

 **Further warning: Quite obviously, the Animagus transformation will feature heavily in this particular story. Unlike many stories where it's just a throwaway or a "Hey, look what MY Harry can do!" it will feature prominently in this story. It will even be the source of a fairly important arc/conflict at some point, which I have planned out. But I don't want to say too much about it here at the top. I will have more to say on it at the end of the chapter.**

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 **Status for Other Stories**

 **The Great Sage: I currently have 14k words on chapter 2, with two or three scenes left to go. Shouldn't be too much longer, provided my mojo is flowing for it. Unfortunately, crossover sequel after crossover sequel keep popping into my head and distracting me. It's making it rather difficult to actually get TO a sequel.**

 **The Arcane Empire: …Where do I start? I have words written. I have a lot of words written actually. It's just…none of it feels good. It's just…falling flat. Sorry to any who care, but my interest in the project has kind of waned. Everything is just feeling awkward in it. For now, it won't be a much focused story.**

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the assorted universes that may or may not show up in this fiction. I would like to thank Mrs. Rowling for allowing us lowly fanfiction writers to play in her sandbox.**

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The still silence of the Yukon was broken when two small cracks rang through the air. In the relative silence, even two as experienced in Apparition such as Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall made noise. "Are you sure this is the right place Albus?" Minerva cast a wary gaze around themselves. Indeed, they were in the deep wilderness – the only sounds being those made by nature. The bubbling of the small waterfall, the singing of the birds… Not at all a place Minerva ever thought their spell would lead them to.

"I am as sure as I reasonably can be." Albus' weary voice replied. "Indeed, I can feel the beacon spell close by. I can only hope our quarry hasn't been harmed. We've failed that family far too many times."

Minerva cast a spell, creating a glowing white orb in front of her. It was a small model of the earth, with a single blinking red dot on its surface. "We're in the _Yukon_?" Came the uncharacteristic – and slightly hysterical – cry of sheer incredulity from the usually refined woman.

The old man's head snapped to his companion, "The Yukon you said?"

"What the dickens is he doing here?" Minerva didn't bother answering, knowing full well that he had heard her correctly the first time.

Albus drew his wand and strode forward commandingly, knowing his old friend would follow. "Be prepared for anything Minerva. With hope, he was simply adopted and his new family happened to live in an area that was out of the way."

Minerva followed, a loose but steady grip on her own wand, "Unless they are hermits, I don't think so. Something is afoot here Albus. The nearest city – even a minor one – is more than fifty kilometers from our location. We're in the wilds here." They crossed through trees and were forced to leap a river, before coming to a stop at a sheer cliff. It wasn't a large one, but they stopped because they saw the beacon they had been led to.

It was a simple mottled brown post owl, with an envelope tied securely to her talons. But what was more important was what they did not see. Nowhere in sight was the boy they had been desperately searching for. The owl was intelligent, and recognized two of her favorite humans below. She flew down and landed on Minerva's arm with a mournful bark.

"Oh what is wrong, Vesper? Can you not find him?" Minerva seemed lost. This had been one of their last hopes for finding him. If the magic of the Hogwarts Book of Names could not pierce whatever was hiding their charge, then she really doubted any legal method could. What was worse was that illegal ones required specific ingredients, such as a cherished possession or even blood of the one to be found.

Vesper barked indignantly and puffed her feathers. She stood on one leg and flared her wings while the other pointed somewhere around a dozen meters ahead of them. Minerva noticed it then. It was a rocky outcropping, surrounding a rather huge black hole. It was a cave. A very large cave.

"He is in there, then?" Albus asked gravely. The satisfied owl puffed up again, and held out the letter for them to take. Albus did so, looking worriedly at the loyal bird. It was not often that a post owl as proud as Vesper refused to deliver their packages personally. For her to refuse to go near that cave meant something had well and truly frightened her. Albus took out a piece of string and handed it to her, "Go and rest Vesper. You've done a fine job." The owl glowed blue momentarily before vanishing. Albus turned to his friend, "Be very much on your guard Minerva. It's not a common occurrence-"

"For an owl like Vesper refuse to deliver to a target very close to her. I know. I shall be vigilant." Minerva replied evenly, before the two leapt/glided to the entrance of the cave in a single bound. They looked at the hole in slight bewilderment. "These rocks look…melted. As though they were once a whole piece but were broken, and melted back into place." She stated, with Albus nodding in agreement.

"Very peculiar." He said before striding forward confidently. The both of them descended into the dark, igniting their wands with powerful light spells. This revealed what appeared to be a broken corridor. Here and there were torch armatures still hanging to the bits of wall that weren't broken. The floor itself dipped, crumbled and uneven. Something very large must have passed through here, carving and pushing the very earth itself out of the way. Some of it looked melted as well.

Both Albus and Minerva began unleashing the shackles put on their magic, in preparation for what could be a fight. They followed the broken path further, going down what must have been stairs at some point. But as they went further in, deeper and deeper, the more the melting effect on the rocks showed. And as the path leveled out once more, something odd began to happen. The lights they shone forward started reflecting back at them. As they closed in on what could only be the end of the rocky tunnels, golden light began intensifying more and more in return.

"Albus, this can't possibly be a Goblin Gold Cave can it?" Minerva asked of her companion.

"More and more, I have been thinking the same thing. That, however, is not the correct question." Albus said grimly. "More importantly, what could have forced them _out_." Minerva realized with a start that Albus was right. Where in the world were all the Goblins? Goblins were vicious about what they regarded as theirs. More than once in history, wars had been started for a single piece of unreturned Goblin crafts. They zealously guarded their creations, not even considering inheritance a valid reason for allowing a human to keep something they created.

But if they considered goblins zealous over their creations, it was _nothing_ compared to how they guarded their Gold Caves. The Goblins were incredibly proud of their knowledge and command over the earth. Even all the largest muggle gold operations together couldn't even hold a candle to a single Goblin Gold Cave. The reason the ore seemed so rare was that most of it was deep, deep underground, in areas that the Goblins had somehow managed to both claim and protect for millennia. These caves – more underground palaces to be honest - where gold ran like rivers through solid stone were the reason that Gringotts was the only true bank in the wizarding world. Not only did they hold an almost monopoly on the largest amounts of gold, but they ruthlessly warred for even a slight whisper of a thought of moving away from the metal as the world's currency. They kept the majority for themselves, loving the metal passionately, and kept rates of exchange high.

It was a practice Albus had long abhorred, but there was little he could do about it. Any action to change things would have the little greedy creatures ready for blood, and losing access to the banks would be a disaster. The wizarding world could not easily handle another Goblin Rebellion. Not this soon after the war with Tom.

As they crossed the threshold of the tunnel into a gigantic cavern, even Albus could not help but stop and gape. Gold. Silver. Copper. Diamonds. Rubies. Sapphires.

Everywhere they looked, precious metals and gems were strewn. There were literal mountains of coins, slabs, and billets of the materials. "What in Merlin's name could have caused the Goblins to abandon this place?" Minerva was almost choking. Albus' mouth was incredibly dry, knowing that the danger level had just skyrocketed.

He didn't bother answering the question, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his sweaty brow, before handing it off to Minerva. It was hot in the cavern. Blisteringly hot even. A quick air conditioning charm on their robes had them at least ready to continue. "Well," He smacked his lips, trying to moisten them, "We now know why the Goblins have been even more surly and unmanageable for the past few years." Minerva could only nod in agreement as she handed him a cup of ice-cold water she conjured.

Minerva sighed and floated her wand in front of her, "Point Me Harry Potter." She didn't expect anything to come of the simple spell. It had been tried before and nothing came of it previously. This time was different. The floating wand began to spin rapidly in every direction before stopping. Its tip was pointing slightly downward, in front of her and to the right. She stared at her wand in shock.

Albus smiled, "So he is alive, even if he is in this dark place. That is somewhat relieving news, at least."

"Albus…How can he be here of all places? If the Goblins were chased out and have not been able to reclaim it in the past five years, _how can he be here_?"

"How indeed?" Albus murmured, as they began heading in the pointed direction. Minerva's floating wand continually changed directions, affixed to their target's location while floating in front of her. As they went down the rock spiral staircase, it adjusted for the new position. They reached ground level and began their climb through the golden mountains. The coins clicked and clanged as they were disturbed for the first time in a long while, sliding as large piles of it were disturbed. Additionally, the sweltering heat seemed to only grow more powerful the further into the mountains they traveled. As they travelled, they occasionally threw starbursts into the air, where they hovered proving both more illumination and a way to find their way back to the entrance.

The Point Me spell, once sufficiently mastered, could not only give a direction but also a general sense of how close they were to their target. It wasn't very accurate, being only a very loose sense, but it could at least tell Minerva that they were getting closer. And the closer they got, the hotter it became. They came upon a very large mountain of coins, surrounding what seemed to be a large rock spike. They ignored it, and circled around rather than climbing. But both noticed something strange. The wand was no longer fixed ahead of them. As they walked around, the wand slowly revolved. By the time they made it less than a quarter of the way around the mound, it had become increasingly clear.

"Albus…please tell me he is not somehow buried within this gigantic pile of gold." Minerva deadpanned. This heat was getting to her. She was tired, and irritated, and now they would likely have to dig in this pile to find out how Harry could possibly be both alive and buried in heavy gold.

"I'm afraid that may be the case, as impossible as it see-" Albus was cut off by a loud noise, almost like a large amount of air being blown through a pipe. The sound of clicking coins drew their attention and they slowly turned. Part of the mound was sliding downward, revealing black underneath, and what appeared to be a hole. As more and more of the coins clinked and slid down, more and more of the black – and now recognizable as _scaly_ – mass appeared. That wasn't a hole.

It was a nostril.

Minerva took a step back. The makings of a head had been revealed. A very… _draconic_ … head. Minerva whimpered. She turned her head sharply as more clinking sounded out, and saw that dozens of meters away, a long appendage was moving as well. The massive beast's head started moving forward, uplifting and moving tons of gold. Minerva and Albus backpedaled in a hurry.

The massive beast's eyelids opened, a secondary eyelid sliding sideways, revealing a glowing, emerald green eye that appeared to have literal fire in its depths.

Albus clenched his wand hard as the beast began to stir. The massive mound they now realized was _covering_ the beast shifted. Golden rivers and then waterfalls fell from the beast's hide as it moved, raising itself slowly while turning to look at the intruders. It sniffed, and what could have been a snarl started pulling at its mouth, revealing razor sharp fangs. It brought its head forward, and Albus clenched, ready to cast his strongest flame freezing charm or turn this mountain of gold into something that could possibly restrain it long enough for him to grab Minerva and flee. What happened next almost caused him to drop his wand in shock.

"How… _interesting_. It has been a long time since I have smelled Human." The great dragon spoke.

In English. The dragon spoke. The _Dragon. Spoke._

Minerva felt quite faint. She was no dragon handler or even a novice on dragons. Neither could she even _see_ all of the massive creature in front of them. But despite that, she _knew_. She could feel in her bones that the terrifyingly large dragon must have been the largest dragon the world had ever seen. Its head was too large for that not to be the case. The Ukrainian Ironbelly was the largest breed of dragon known. The largest Ironbelly ever measured was said to have been 26 and a half meters in length. The average Ironbelly usually measured from 18 to 20 meters in length. She had been lucky enough to see a herd of them in her youth, and she was very, very sure that this monster would likely have been able to hold a full-grown Ironbelly in its mouth.

As more and more of the gold slid off its hide and scales, she became surer. The black dragon in front of them was _too_ massive. Its head was relatively smooth, up until the tip of its skull. There, large black spikes started jutting back, continuing down its spine and growing progressively smaller. Its scales were massive, and could better be described as armored plates in certain locations. She did not know what the tail looked like, as it was still buried. It had a joined wing/arm, like many of the dragons they knew about. It also had a very long neck – much longer than any breeds she knew of - which joined to its larger and clearly powerful body. The scales on its underbelly were tinged green, unlike the rest of its jet black body. It's absolutely massive wingspan was not even spread, but must have been immense. She could only see hints of its hind legs, but she could tell that they were powerfully built.

The dragon climbed out from under its gold fully and began circling them. Every footstep it took seemed to cause a small quake, and a new shifting of the mountains of gold under their feet. Even Albus Dumbledore – widely regarded as the strongest Warlock in the world currently – would not fire first on such a massive dragon. It was bound to be incredibly powerful _and_ extremely resistant to magic. The pair were forced to watch as the dragon took up position in front of them, its back now to what they knew was the exit. But they could now see it in its full glory as it stood proud. Minerva could only guess, but she figured that it must have been 40 meters in length. At minimum.

"So!" The Dragon's voice now _boomed_. "Whom do I have the pleasure of _receiving_ in my home?"

Albus swallowed, but the lump in his throat seemed to not want to go away. He didn't imagine Minerva was coping much better. The magnificent, terrifying(ly intelligent) being blocking off the only exit they knew of could very likely kill them before they could even retaliate. But it appeared to be intelligent, and could speak. He hoped beyond hope that it truly had manners and was not just toying with them. "M-My name is Albus Dumbledore!" He hated that he had stuttered, and firmed his voice, projecting confidence he truly didn't feel, "My companion is named Minerva McGonagall!"

The beast rumbled, "A pleasure, I'm sure." Its eyes seemed to glow brighter, "Now, what brings you to my home. It has been a long time since I have had…visitors. The last company to come did not meet with as much… _pleasantness_."

Well, no one ever called Albus Dumbledore _sane_ , "We are looking for a human child! A boy who went missing just under five years ago! We were led here through the only tracking charm that has worked since we began searching for him!"

The rumbling increased, and the scales in front of its chest seemed to glow brighter for a moment. "I see." Its head descended, coming closer to the duo, "And what is this child's name, may I ask?"

Minerva spoke for the first time in many minutes. She felt faint, and quite frankly just wanted to find the boy and leave, "Harry Potter!" She called out, and the dragon stirred once more, its eyes flashing, "He disappeared five years ago! He lived with his aunt, uncle, and cousin! One day, his house caught fire and practically exploded! His relatives all died but he somehow lived! He was just never heard from again. We have been searching for him ever since!"

The rumbling rang again, different this time. Minerva realized with a start that it was _laughing_. The beast continued for a long moment, before settling physically, "And what is your interest in this…Harry Potter."

Drat. Looks like they would have to play the Dragon's game. "We came to find him and bring him home. His parents had his name down for Hogwarts – the greatest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the word – since he was born. The Potters were close friends and great allies of ours, so we tried to make sure he was well cared for. I am the school's headmaster, while Minerva is my Vice and also the transfiguration teacher. We taught Harry's parents and I myself taught his grandparents a long time ago. Failing their son…" Albus choked up.

But the dragon was interested, "So, you were the one who placed the boy with his relatives?" It growled.

"We were." Albus confirmed, "Minerva here didn't quite agree, but there really was no other option." The dragon's chest noticeably started to glow, seeming to have molten heat trying to escape its scales.

" _Why_?" It growled, and Minerva realized with a whimper that it was _angry_.

"It is…a rather long story." Albus said carefully.

The dragon snarled, "You have the time." An ominous note crept into its voice, "I am waiting."

Albus sighed, "To fully understand, we have to go back many years. To start, there is and has been an ideological conflict within the wizarding world. Our world hides within and alongside the normal, mundane world. Magic gives us her blessings and gifts, and we train them to a fine edge. The first Warlocks were powerful, and their children inherited their abilities and potential. Over centuries, these pioneers refined their crafts and quickly catapulted their quality of life to heights that were unimaginable at the time. The mundanes, called muggles in our world, did not. In fact, many times through history, they even regressed and lost knowledge! When children with magic started being born to muggles, they were not warmly welcomed by the world. Those who weren't discovered were murdered, sometimes by their own frightened parents who believed the children possessed by evil spirits. Those who survived were picked up by the more tolerant magical folk."

Albus stopped to conjure a glass of water and renew the air conditioning charms on their robes, so Minerva picked off tiredly. Giving an ancient history lesson to probably the biggest dragon the world had ever seen was not how she planned her day out, "But these were unwashed, often abused children. They were uneducated. Illiterate. Frightened of themselves and those who now surrounded them. They were shunned. The established magical communities did not feel that they should share their hard earned knowledge with these – to them – unworthy masses. To make matters worse, these muggleborn children sometimes brought the wrath of mobs of muggles in religious frenzies. They tried to kill witches and wizards. This was the true start of the longest running ideological conflict in our world. The established magicals – who would go on to call themselves purebloods – did not want to share their knowledge and hoarded it amongst families.

There were no schools at the time for magic. Only clans and families and the alliances between them. They were obsessed with their own power and superiority, with some fair reasons. Many pureblood families had instinctual, personalized family magic. Some might even call some of these abilities blood gifts. This further deepened the rift, as the muggleborn had nothing to offer purebloods in marriages. Some persevered, their great-grandchildren coming to be called second generation purebloods. Others went mad, and either created conflicts or more regularly were killed. This went on for over a millennia before Hogwarts was formed."

Albus took over, "Hogwarts was the very first formal school for magic in the entire world. Class sizes were small at first, but through the perseverance of its four founders, it became a wildly successful institution that would inspire other counties and other systems to rise up and emulate it. But this created a problem in the minds of the purebloods, because the founders created a method of tracking the birth and magical status of every child in the Isles. It soon became clear that the muggleborn outnumbered the purebloods. So the conflict continued into the school, eventually splitting the founders between the three who believed in equal opportunity and the one who believed that muggleborn should be taken from their parents at birth. When his wife was burned at the stake, he descended into madness and eventually left the school, determined to wipe out all muggles entirely."

The dragon rumbled, "Ahh, revenge was it?" The dragon laughed lowly, "Yes, even the mightiest can fall under its sway. But I wonder, was it relief or further _pain_ that this individual found?"

"Indeed," Albus replied tiredly, "All Salazar Slytherin found for the rest of his days was pain and sadness. He turned on his former friends, demanding the exile of the muggleborn. When they refused, he slowly started exploring the darker magicks. He started trying to poison his students against the muggleborn. It worked unfortunately well, as many of his personal students never wanted anything to do with the muggleborn to begin with. War soon broke out, and raged for near a decade before he was slain by his former friends. But the conflict did not end with his death.

No, his children – furious with the cold-hearted murder of their mother – continued his work. They were merely less obvious about it. More secretive. They slowly took over the newly formed Ministry of Magic while the oldest took a seat on the Wizengamot. They ensured only the like-minded purebloods had good positions in the ministry. Only they could become department heads. They passed many laws which were only recently repealed this century legalizing muggle hunting and the like. Truly barbaric, and there was truly nothing anyone could realistically do about it."

Minerva sighed, clenching her fists minutely, "And so the conflict continued for the next millennia, with a Slytherin or other dark wizard laying claim to the title of Dark Lord and using the muggleborn conflict as the perfect tenant for recruitment. This continued until 1926, when a boy named Tom Riddle was born." An angry snort was her response. The dragon had never heard the name before, but just the sound of it made it twitch, "He was the latest in a line of heirs to the name Slytherin, and he used it to his full advantage. He was a model student; he became head boy at Hogwarts in his final year. Charismatic. Handsome. Polite."

She grimaced as Albus took over, "And utterly depraved. He murdered for the first time at fifteen years of age, and managed to frame it on another student. I protested of course, even if I had no actual proof at the. I knew that Rubeus Hagrid never would have done such a thing. But no one would believe a half giant with a propensity for dangerous animals over the model student. I kept a close eye on him afterwards, but there was little I could do after he left the school. I had…my own issues to deal with in the same period." He turned away.

"Tom did not go into the ministry as expected. He got a job as a simple clerk in a questionable store. Kept his ear the ground, looking for certain….heirlooms he wanted to collect. And once he had those heirlooms, he simply disappeared. For nearly a decade and a half, he vanished entirely. He was like a ghost, before suddenly reappearing in Hogwarts applying for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Albus saw right through him, of course. He hadn't wanted to teach. No, he had wanted to do as his ancestors had done and poison the students. Recruit them for his army. But again, without proof, all Albus could do was reject him and prepare." Minerva smiled mirthlessly.

The dragon's voice was like rock grating on rock, "I can see what came next. War."

Albus nodded, "Indeed. We had peace – a restless peace, but peace nonetheless – for the next ten years. It started small at first. Disappearances once every few months. Pro-muggleborn Laws failing in the Wizengamot. Whispers of a nameless fear. Then, things intensified. Powerful Aurors squads dying out. Muggle families tortured and destroyed. Businesses owned by muggleborn exploding with their patrons and owners still inside." He growled, anger infusing his being. Even the dragon shifted slightly at the amount of power it could feel from the old man, "Then, came the first true shot of the war. An entire muggleborn settlement vanished overnight; it's people mauled by werewolves. We found the corpses of their children bloodied and sliced open in the streets, with the image of a skull with a snake for a tongue flaming bright in the night sky. The Blood War had begun anew."

"And it truly was a war." Minerva said silently, "Any not with them were against them. Lord V- V- _Voldemort_ – the name Tom had chosen for himself – ruled his minions through fear and punishment. He liked to style himself as a King, and ruled as cruelly as a mad tyrant could. The only one he ever feared was Albus, for good reason of course."

To his credit, Albus didn't as much as twitch at that, "Lord Voldemort had powers I never will." He said solemnly.

"Only because you are too noble to use them." Minerva shot back just as quickly. Probably an automatic response at this point. "People disappeared daily; kidnapped off the streets in broad daylight. No one knew who to trust. Loyal followers and mind-controlled puppets could be around you at any time, with no telling of who was with him and who was against him. Oh, we fought. Plenty of us fought. But it was hard to fight a shadow. By the time the aurors deployed to help one distress call – possibly a fake one at that – the next one was raised. And even when we did catch his followers red-handed, no one but Albus could have even a chance at defeating _him_. Families simply vanished over-night; both muggleborn and purebloods who rejected his doctrine. His reign of terror continued for years…and he was winning." She said darkly.

Albus smiled sadly, "And then, when many of us had lost hope…it happened. He attacked the Potters. Personally. James held him off, fighting like a man possessed. He was a genius with transfiguration – almost as much as I have been called – and was no slouch in other areas of magic. He held Lord Voldemort off for two minutes before he fell to the _Avada Kedavra_. The Killing Curse. And like a tiger stalking a baby antelope, Lord Voldemort climbed the stairs. Lily Potter blocked his path, shielding the crib of her baby. Lord Voldemort offered her life if she stood aside. Lily refused. She too fell to the Killing Curse. And then Lord Voldemort turned his wand towards the baby – little one-year-old Harry Potter – and cast the unblockable Killing Curse once more."

Albus and Minerva could be excused if their smiles looked a bit vindicated, "And the single most deadly curse known – one capable of passing through any shield made of magic and killing with a single grazing of a pinky – bounced off young Harry's forehead. No one knows exactly what happened or how it happened, but that curse bounced and destroyed Voldemort's body, leaving behind nothing but a torn black cloak and a lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead."

He sighed tiredly, looking quite down, "And almost overnight, the reign of terror of the darkest wizard in centuries ended. Everyone celebrated, heedless of our laws against detection by muggles or the fact that a young boy had just been orphaned. No, they toasted to Harry Potter for ending their nightmare. Except it wasn't quite over. His followers were still at large, even if their leader seemed dead. So I took young Harry and tried to make sure he was taken care of. I gave him to his last living family, hoping that they would care for him as if he was their own child, as Lily would have done for them."

Minerva seemed close to tears, "And five years ago that poor child's house exploded and he vanished. It was undoubtedly one of our greatest failures."

The dragon rumbled angrily, seething, "And this _Voldemort_. I did not miss that you did not say that he died. No, you said his _body_ _was destroyed._ What became of _him_?" The dragon snarled.

Albus grimaced, as did Minerva, "Many believe he died. They are content that he is gone and as far as they're concerned, the problem is over. The smarter think otherwise. One of the biggest traits of Voldemort is right in the name he fashioned for himself. Vol De Mort. Flight From Death. Tom Riddle was born as his mother died, abandoning him to the orphanage and cruel muggle children. His biggest fear is and has always been Death. I have no doubt that scoundrel is out there somewhere, licking his wounds. One day he will try to rise again. I am sure."

The dragon's chest noticeably started to brighten – inner flames lighting up the scales in an emerald blaze. His eyes started to pulse as flames licked inside its snarling maw. It stood from its passive stance, looking very much enraged, " _Good_." Its voice was concrete on rough stone, "Let him come. I will tear him apart!"

Finally, Minerva lost it. She just couldn't take it anymore. The heat and this bloody overgrown lizard had gotten to her, "Excuse me, but what interest is _he_ to _you_! You're just a dragon!"

Albus coughed to keep a laugh from escaping him, "Really Minerva? Of the two of us, I would have expected you to have realized it before me."

Minerva turned to him, almost snarling, "Realized _what_?"

Albus simply pointed at the dragon. The _shrinking_ dragon. Forty meters became thirty, then twenty. Its massive wingspan shrank, its tail curling up into its body. Its skin started lightening, losing its scaly patterns. Then, before too long, a naked boy stood in its place. He was tall for what she idly realized must have been his age, and much more muscled. He very much still felt like a massive predator to those who could sense such things, but that messy black Potter hair and Lily's emerald eyes made certain that people would know who he was. "I am Harry Potter, and I accept your invitation."

Minerva stared. And stared. Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed in a dead faint.

 **-]|[-**

Minerva first waking action was to groan out load, "Urgh, my head. I had the strangest dream."

"And what dream was that, my dear?" Albus asked her.

He sounded entirely too amused. She scowled at him, "That we found Mr. Potter and he somehow managed to transform into a great honking dragon." She snorted, "Entirely ridiculous of course. Everyone knows Magical Animagi are strictly impossible."

"Indeed." His twinkle was on at full blast. She may as well have been staring at a Christmas tree. She almost felt like strangling him with his own beard.

She wasn't allowed to say anymore, as an earth-shaking roar sounded in the distance, making her jump in fright. It rapidly closed in to their location, with a noise sounding like a hurricane approaching with it. The massive dragon burst into the sky above them, circling their little clearing once before coming in to land. It shrank as it descended, losing its scaly look once more. The boy – thankfully clothed this time – flapped his arms slowly to finish his landing, before they too reverted to human flesh and blood. "I see Professor McGonagall is awake again. I hope she didn't hit her head."

Albus shook his head, "I cushioned her fall. She's fine. Just had a nasty shock."

Minerva felt like a first year, and acted like one too, "You're impossible!" She said, pointing a finger accusingly at the boy.

He looked entirely too smug, and his eyes were glowing almost as brightly as Albus', "No, I'm Harry."

 **-]|[-**

Elsewhere, in one of the most inhospitable places on earth, a man lay shivering in his sleep on his cot. Even with the blanket he was provided, Azkaban was still a freezing hell due to the Dementors. Inexplicably, said prisoner suddenly fist pumped once in his sleep. His arm did not fall until he woke the next feeding time.

 **-]|[-**

Minerva twitched. She now had two people she wanted to strangle in that clearing. She had a feeling Severus would be spitting fire the first staff meeting. Without fire whiskey, "What you just _did_ was impossible."

Harry looked affronted, "Hardly. I'm not the only one here who can transform. Professor Dumbledore here assures me you are quite a gorgeous kitty." Said old man was whistling innocently, pretending not to be listening.

Minerva took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. After a slow five count in her head, she spoke again, "It is not your transformation that is impossible. The ability itself as not really all that rare, even if most never manage to complete the training. I am talking about _what_ you transformed into. Everything I know about the Animagus transformation as well as millennia of recorded history states that a magical Animagus should be impossible."

Harry chuckled, "I think I see now why the non-magical scientific folk don't like listing their discoveries as laws or rules. There's always a chance for them to be proven wrong."

Minerva sputtered at that, "We have millennia of data collected stating that not a single Animagus has ever been a magical animal. I would call that fairly trustable data."

"And yet," Albus stated happily, looking far more animated than Minerva had seen him in many years, "We have someone proving otherwise sitting right before us." Albus was, at heart, a Transfiguration Grand Master. Seeing something _new_ in a field that saw little change due to how established and rigid it had become was a grand thing. He was sure when Minerva realized that herself she would become just as excited. Once the shock worse off, of course.

"Professor, what is involved in becoming an Animagus? That may be a good place to start." Harry suggested, looking at the two elders.

Minerva primed herself for an impromptu lecture at the question, "The Animagus Transformation is an arduous process that many show interest in yet few complete. It differs from a regular human-to-animal transfiguration in that it is completely wandless. Additionally, an Animagus keeps fully cognizant of themselves. Even with a tinier brain to go along with a smaller form, it functions the same as a human brain. On the other hand, people transfigured into animals with less brain power can even forget that they are human. The final difference is that an Animagus form is truly another form, and both forms draw from the other. A dog Animagus has heightened loyalty. A wizard stricken with bad eyes who becomes a jaguar will wake up with perfect vision. A bear Animagus will have extremely high strength and a _highly_ improved sense of smell. The form improves the wizard as much as the wizard embraces the form. This can also have negatives, as insect Animagi generally have less respect for personal space and can even grow a lot more nosey than they once were."

She conjured a glass and had a drink. Despite the fact that they were in the Yukon, it felt extremely hot. Unreasonably so even. She twitched as she realized that a large amount of heat was coming from _Harry_ himself, as the clearing had become a lot hotter once he had appeared. "The process has only one known method with a hundred percent success possibility. There are other rituals that I have heard about but in all of my research I have never come across any information on how to actually perform them. They are essentially legends or myths. So, we have only one way that will reveal your form, and that is through the Animagus Revealing Potion. It is incredibly expensive to buy and is one of the most difficult potions to make. Unless you are from a rich pureblood family, you have almost no chance of buying one. If you want it, you must be gifted in potions, never mind the gift you need for transfiguration to actually transform. However, when properly made, it shows you your form and all that is left for you to do is to embrace it and become it."

Silence rang in the clearing for a beat. Harry was smirking at both of them. Albus was again the first to cotton on, "A potion young Harry here could not conceivably have gotten his hands on." He deadpanned.

Another beat, "That's right." Minerva slowly muttered, "There is no way you could have consumed that potion. Not unless Lily had left a trunk or a cabinet full of potions she had brewed with her sister in case the worst happened."

Harry snorted, "The Dursleys were completely obsessed with normality and being as mundane as possible. If mom had left such a trunk with them they probably would have had a bonfire in the back yard to destroy all evidence." His eyes flashed, momentarily gaining draconic qualities, "I'm sure there were worse muggles you could have left me with. Don't think I would want to meet them."

And there it was. Out in the open. Dumbledore was sagging and Minerva was glaring daggers at the man, "Harry, can you tell us what happened that night?"

Harry looked away. The temperature got unbearable for a moment, before calming, "I'm sure you can guess. They certainly were not nice people. Petunia once brained me with a skillet for dropping a plate because my hand-me-down trainers were torn up. Dudley's favorite game was "Harry Hunting" with his gang. And Vernon…well, one day, he found me with a Fantasy novel that I'd borrowed from the school library." His eyes were fully draconic and seemed to be burning from within, "That day he broke my arm and tore up the book. When he found out that it was a library book and that he would have to _pay_ for destroying it?" Harry smiled. It was not a kind smile. "That night was the first time I transformed."

The two adults looked ashen, "I just don't understand." Albus mumbled, mostly to himself. Silent tears dripped from behind his glasses, "Children are precious to us. One of the reasons Voldemort was considered one of the darkest Dark Lords in centuries was his willingness to go after children." He almost seemed like he was pleading with himself, "How could family treat family that way."

Harry shrugged, "They did seem to get worse and worse the longer I stayed with them. I won't make excuses for them. What they did was unforgiveable."

"Indeed." Minerva sounded rather croaky, "I warned you Albus. I warned you, but I never expected this."

"How could you? You're a bunch of school teachers. If you didn't love children yourselves I hardly would think you would do what you do. How could you expect anyone to wish to harm innocent children?" Harry said pragmatically.

Minerva snorted, "You're oddly mature for an eleven year old."

"I'm a dragon." He deadpanned, "Not only am I a dragon, but I have been alone for over five years. Moreover, I had no friends whatsoever growing up. Dudley made sure of that. Made sure everyone was either too afraid of him to approach me or that everyone thought I was a dangerous _freak_. I turned to books and education because that was all I could do. That did not stop just because I became a dragon, other than the two or three month long period when I was learning how to transform and control what parts of my magic I could get working."

"The instincts did transfer over then? Also, why is your dragon form so massive? You're almost twenty meters bigger than the biggest dragon I've ever heard of, and neither of us can recognize your species." Minerva asked, some excitement in her voice. She was glad that they could get away from the depressing topic, even if only momentarily.

Harry looked slightly bewildered at that, "Really? Isn't that interesting? I used to be smaller too. Roughly half the size I am now. I knew I wasn't like any of the dragons in the books I found in my hoard, but none of those had any mention of size. Well, not any that I could read at any rate. I never did find out what those green creatures were."

Albus winced in unison with Minerva, "Ahh… Harry? If I may interject for a moment?" He paused delicately, "Your, ah, _hoard_. I don't suppose you acquired it… _peacefully_ , did you?"

Harry laughed darkly, startling the two adults, "Whatever dragon I am, has a _burning_ and completely instinctive desire for gold and wealth. I am not here in the Yukon by mistake. My senses brought me here." He relaxed, his smile becoming lighter, "You need not worry. Those days are past, or at least controlled. Enough of the human in me has mixed with the Dragon to lighten the need and the instinct."

Both of them sighed in relief, "So then you would be amenable to returning this land to the Goblins?"

"I think not." The answer pained the two adults greatly, "These… _goblins_ … have launched incursion after incursion into my lair, throwing life after life away in a futile attempt to feed their greed. Even if I were to be inclined to giving up my hoard – which I am _not_ , as you may as well ask me to tear off my scales – it certainly wouldn't be to _them_."

Albus looked grave, "I would ask you to reconsider Harry. The goblins…are not an enemy you wish to have. They will _never_ stop fighting you for this cave, and all of them are fully dedicated to seeing it in their grasp once more. Furthermore, they breed at ludicrous speeds and have ways to combat dragons. It would be wise to leave this place. They will _never_ leave you in peace."

"I know." Came the reply, though not as seriously as the situation warranted, "They have tried. They even brought what I had thought to be juvenile dragons the last few times. I now know that they were adult dragons, thanks to you. Their dragon hurting methods do not work on me. I am far more magical or far more armored than the ones they employ, and I only grow larger and stronger as I age. When I first transformed I was less than half the size I am now and had far less armor on my body. My fire couldn't even melt stone. I had to dig out my first few homes with my claws. By the time I took this cave roughly seven months after my first transformation, I had grown and my fire could melt stone and metal in instants." He smirked, "Given what you've told me, at this point I'm not sure if I will _stop_ growing."

Minerva especially was thunderstruck. He was going to get _bigger_? She wanted to whimper.

"But enough about that. I will not agree to give up my hoard. Though I will be careful in who I reveal this place to. After all, at the most, the goblins know a dragon has taken up residence here. They do not know that I am the dragon, nor that I can smell their kind coming from twenty kilometers. Though, with me gone for a large part of the year to this boarding school of yours, I will need to learn some alerts spells quickly. They haven't tried to take this place in over a year. I was getting rather restless, to be honest."

Minerva wondered if she should feel numb or not. There would clearly be no reasoning with the boy on this issue, and she was loathe to anger the _forty meter minimum_ dragon in human flesh in front of them, "Indeed. But that discussion brought up some interesting facts. Would you be amenable to working with me on this Animagus form of yours? It has always been a passion of mine and seeing what I thought were laws of the transformation broken so thoroughly makes me excited to study it."

Harry shrugged, "Of course. I am rather interested in it myself. I have a feeling I will enjoy transfiguration." Albus and Minerva both beamed at that, though Albus sobered quickly.

Albus addressed the young boy, "Harry, this likely won't be something you want to hear, but I suggest that you keep this transformation of yours a secret. At least for now. You're young, and I assure you that even with your form, you are not unbeatable. If your form is revealed before you can keep yourself safe, you would be in danger."

Harry's eyes were hard, "I will agree, provided that on weekends and vacation days I am free to return here if I wish. I know at least one form of magic deals with teleportation, which I learned how to accomplish myself-"

Albus and Minerva choked, "You know how to apparate!" Harry blinked and leaned back with wide eyes, "Harry, that's another thing you have to keep secret. You need a license to apparate in our world, and you can only apply for that license at seventeen." Albus told him sternly, "I will test you on this to make sure you actually know what you're doing. It is incredibly dangerous to the untrained, as you can leave entire limbs or organs behind. I will not try to restrict you – you are far too independent and have been so for far too long for me to even try – and apparition is an incredibly useful skill. However, I _will_ offer my advice and opinions, and try to guide you. I would suggest that you tell only those who you feel are beyond reproach about this skill. Same for the dragon form."

Harry nodded, "That is okay with me. As long as I get to spread my wings on weekends, I will not be transforming in the school. Not until I have learned some protection and defensive magic at least."

Albus smiled, this time with a fair bit of relief. The boy was nothing like what he had expected or hoped for, but he was at least not unreasonable, "Now, I think we have spent enough time here in the wilderness, no? Minerva, can you handle getting Harry to Diagon Alley and his school shopping? I will return to Hogwarts to prepare something for young Harry here. I believe he will need it."

"Of course, Albus. Getting back to some normalcy will do wonders for me, I think." The woman replied.

The three stood, and Albus addressed Harry, "Harry, your aura, even in your human form, reeks of an extremely large and powerful predator. Not only that, but you radiate magic in a way I've rarely seen from one so young. Furthermore, your body seems more like a furnace than a regular human body. Even standing this far from you, I feel almost unreasonably hot, and that it without your emotions making you burn hotter. You will need to learn how to suppress that."

Harry looked quite sheepish, "I know. I have been trying, actually. It is a slow process, since I don't really know where to start with either."

Albus nodded, having suspected that due to the heat fluctuations he had absently been monitoring, "Normally I would not teach a student personally, but that is something you will have to get a grasp on. Until school starts in eight weeks, I will meet with you to help get that under control. At the very least I will help you reduce your aura. The most powerful of us all have auras. They are a sign of that power. However, uncontrolled auras such as yours are the sign of inexperience with that power, and are a sign of weakness. By the time school begins in full, I hope to have you at least capable of suppressing it. In the meantime, I will devise something that you can wear which will accomplish this for you."

He drew his sleeve back, revealing a rather odd watch, "This watch is both a watch and an extremely valuable magical tool. It functions by sapping you of a vast majority of your magic. In doing so, it becomes linked to you and takes on traits of your magic. For example, even if I were exhausted and completely drained of magic, I could use this watch to conjure objects, as it was one of my favorite and most used forms of transfiguration. I could even reverse the flow and feed myself more of my own energy. Additionally, this stresses your magic, forcing your body to strain itself harder to regenerate more, increasing the overall amount you have. Your training with it will be complete when you can utterly ignore it and its effects. Then, it will essentially become another tool in your arsenal. An extension of your arm, so to speak." His mustache quirked upwards, indicating a smile, "Finally-" He flicked his wrist, and – quite impossibly – a wand popped out, "-it will also function as a rather stylish wand holster."

Harry's eyes were shining at the use he could see out of the device, "That sounds rather amazing! Does every witch and wizard wear one?"

Minerva laughed, "I'm afraid not Harry. It would be nice to have, as one of the biggest issues students have is the lack of enough power to cast some spells. Of course, there are other reasons; lack of self-confidence, mismatched wands… These are all things that can cause a student to underperform. In the early years, these are usually the _only_ reasons. However, in the later years, especially in NEWTS and post-NEWTS, you'll find that some spells have a very real power requirement. Many wizards and witches need to wait decades for their magic to mature enough to be capable of casting a spell such as a Patronus. The more they stress it, the more powerful it becomes, of course. It is very much like a muscle. But some students are – quite unfortunately – just not dedicated enough. These devices require a bare minimum threshold of magical power to not harm the user. At least half of our population will only hit that point in their late twenties and early thirties when they have been using magic every day in small amounts for years. You are unusually powerful for your age."

Harry shrugged, "Hey, I _am_ a dragon. Might be the reason, might not. I'll roll with it anyway. Can anything be used to make one of these devices?"

Albus nodded happily, "Anything you choose Harry." Said boy 'whooped' in glee and abruptly vanished, causing the smiles of both adults to become…strained, "I had quite happily forgotten that we had an eleven year old capable of doing that."

Harry returned as abruptly as he'd left, and handed the older man something. It was leather and metal vambrace that he'd found in his hoard at some point, "Always liked the look of this thing. Never fit me though." It was indeed beautiful, if one was into things like that, what with its intricate designs.

Albus chuckled, and put it on the boys arm. A few quick spells had it fitting like a sleeve. He took it off and nodded to the two, "I'm off you two. I shall see you in a couple hours. In the meantime though." He poked Harry's wrist with his wand, and an oddly shaped character appeared on his skin. He drew the boys sleeve over it, "That will suppress the predator portion of your aura until I finish this permanent device. It will not last long, so you have to be finished with Gringotts at the very least in four hours." He tipped his hat at them, and with that, he vanished.

Minerva turned to the boy and smiled, "Okay Harry. We'll be going to Diagon Alley to pick up your school supplies. If you wish, you could also stay there under the supervision of Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron. Normally we would return you home, but I think it will be better for you to meet some of the children you will be schooling with. You've been alone for far too long." Minerva looked quite sad at that.

He smiled at her, "It was for the best. I needed time to myself, to be honest. I was consumed with a lot of anger back then. Having a dragon's power to back it up didn't help."

She shook her head, "You never should have been in that position to begin with." She sighed, "Alright, now, we did tell you the story about how He was defeated. There are two things you should know or realize. A large part of the magical community _will_ idolize you. Whether you like it or not, that will happen. You are lucky that scar on your head faded a great deal. Secondly, you've proven you can apparate. Would you like to take us to test your distance apparition or would you like me to bring us?"

He grinned brightly, "I'd like to give it a go. I just need to know where it is." She pulled out her wand and dragged a tiny silver light from her head. She directed it to his head, and he instantly learned of an alleyway close to the Leaky Cauldron that was warded against muggles. He offered his arm to his professor, and with a pop, they were gone.

-]|[-

Harry raised an eyebrow from under the brim of his cap. "Well, it's a nice wall professor, but I hardly think I can buy things here." Harry was apparently well versed in the art of the snark.

"Hush you." She rolled her eyes, beginning to tap on the wall with her wand. "If, by some odd miracle, a muggle managed to slip into the Leaky Cauldron unnoticed, he still would not be able to get into the Alley. This is a gate. Nice work on thinking of the hat. I did not fancy getting mobbed in that pub."

He snorted, "Less than I don't wish it, I'm sure. I'm sure they'll mean well, but I'd rather not have them trying to cozy up to me for something my parents did. I have no intention of being a nameless face, but being known as the Boy-Who-Lived is actually rather aggravating."

Minerva approved, "Indeed. You were but a toddler. While you were strong even as a baby, I doubt your sheer presence managed to reflect that curse. The masses just want an idol." She looked at him proudly, "Do not be afraid to feel pride over your accomplishments Harry, but feeling as though you must earn that praise is a good attitude to have." With that, she tapped the final brick and the passage melted away.

The magic of the alley was clear to Harry. It was large, he could tell, and completely crowded. It felt very alive, and the displays in front of the shops were colorful and loud and – in the case of the apothecary – quite smelly. Thankfully, beyond cursory greetings to Professor McGonagall, they made it through the crowds rather easily. Though Harry may have pulsed his aura slightly to clear the path faster.

"This is Gringotts, and, as you may be able to tell, is where the Goblins rule." She looked at him sternly, "Do try to behave. Keep that aura down."

"I know." He said in an annoyed tone. He did so hate having to hide who he was, but understood it as necessary for the moment. While he cared little for the wealth – beyond wishing to add it to his hoard as soon as possible – as he had more than enough of his own, he was slightly hopeful that there would be heirlooms of his family protected inside the vaults. He knew from speaking with the Headmaster that the Potters were quite an old family, so the vaults would likely be filled with heirlooms – especially since Voldemort attacked and burned the old Potter Manor in the mid stages of the first war. Despite the attack, the most important effects were thought to have been saved. However, he would trade all of it for even some time with his parents.

Dragon or not, independent or not, he was still an orphan. He did wish for a family. He knew he couldn't have his old family back, so he hoped to find his parents belongings, to see what they were like. And Gringotts may have some of these belongings.

So he would play nice. For now.

The doors opened soundlessly, as expected. Greedy little bastards that they were, Goblins at least knew how to live in style, and spared no expense to make sure the shining white building in the center of the Alley _gleamed_. He ignored the threat written on the plaque. It was hard to feel scared of whatever toys the Goblins had when he had personally crushed and eaten many of them.

He almost snorted at the opulence of the main hall they walked into. There was gold – false, foil, and otherwise – and a whole lot of it. Everywhere. Matched with marble pillars that _shone_ – seemingly freshly polished. Each desk was a rich light wood, raised high so that the tiny beings could loom over their customers. Each goblin was dressed in a suit – the whole nines – with one of them even sporting a monocle.

Harry could smell the bloodlust each being held even without focusing his senses.

They approached the nearest open teller – counting gold like a fat cat – and raised its attention, "Mr. Potter here would like to visit his vault." Minerva stated clearly, if a tad silently so as to not attract too much attention from the clientele.

Harry spoke up himself, "I would also like a full review of my account. I have, after all, been absent for years, with my parents dead."

The Goblin sneered, "Yes, quite…unfortunate." It said. Didn't quite manage to convey sincereness either. Harry was quite happily considering ways that he could roast it. "Very well. I shall require some of your blood. I shall also require a key."

Harry's eyes flashed, though he managed to keep his pupils from changing with sheer will. His _blood_? He held back a snort. It figured that the only way they little monsters would be able to bleed him would be when he had to offer it freely to get what he wanted, "Very well. Where do I need to go?"

Minerva placed a key on the desk gently – having to reach slightly due to the obnoxiously high desk – as the goblin rummaged around for something. "Here is his key. It has been held by Albus Dumbledore and myself in trust."

The goblin paused to snarl lightly at the key, "Everything appears to be in order." He floated an ostentatious golden slip of paper with the Gringotts logo embosomed on it as well as a sharp-looking quill. "Prick your finger and place it on the sheet. The fifty galleon fee for this procedure will be deducted from your account."

Harry's eyebrow twitched slightly. The urge to impale this creature on his claws was growing by the second. He was interrupted by Minerva, who conjured a small prick and handed it to him. "Use this instead, Harry. It will cause a smaller wound, and I've spelled it to heal the cut after a single drop of blood has been squeezed out." The goblin was fuming at that turn of events, though it kept still and silent outwardly. It was unfortunate, but goblin-cast blood protections were fairly rare in Gringotts. There were some vaults with them, but all wizards usually requested such rituals to be unwitnessed. There was rarely any chance to collect willingly given blood when they were finished. That quill was meant to capture some inside a hidden reservoir, making it simple for Goblins to bypass blood wards – inside the bank and otherwise – when necessary. His superiors would not be pleased.

Harry nodded to her in thanks, and dripped the red fluid on the golden sheet. Immediately, it flashed black, and golden letters began appearing. The process took roughly two minutes, and when it was finished Harry picked it up.

 **Harry James Potter**

 **Vaults**

 **687 – Potter Heir Trust Vault:**

 **Liquid: 12,000 Galleons**

 **Effects: N/A**

 **Annual limit of 12,000 Galleons – To be refilled on July 31st yearly until his majority.**

 **Monthly Withdrawal Limit: 1000 Galleons**

 **Last Withdrawal: June 20th 1991 – 150 Galleons – Final Hogwarts Tuition Payment**

 **17 – Potter Family Vault:**

 **Liquid: 839,548 Galleons**

 **Effects: Various Potter Family Heirlooms, Portraits, and the Potter Family Library**

 **Monthly Withdrawal Limit: 0 until his fifteenth year; 100,000 afterwards; Full Access after his Majority. All Effects may be removed at any time.**

 **Annual 3000 Galleon maintenance fee to Gringotts.**

 **3849 – Personal Vault of Lily and James Potter**

 **Liquid: 0 Galleons**

 **Effects: Personal Libraries, Awards, Belongings**

 **Full Access**

Harry smiled widely. Even the greedy dragon in him could frankly care less about the gold. His parent's vaults had the actual value

 **Properties**

 **The cottage at Godric's Hollow was turned into a national landmark by the Ministry of Magic. Potter Manor was burned down. Its land was sold off to pay outstanding debts.**

Now _that_ on the other hand, caused him to fume. How dare the Ministry take what was to be his home and turn it into a _National bloody Wonder_! Did they not consider that perhaps he could want to rebuild? Clenching his fists, he moved on.

He rolled it up and pocketed it, "I would like to visit 687 and 3849 today." He did not bother with false politeness. The goblin did not either as it whistled for another goblin to lead them away, tossing back the key negligently and paying no more attention to them. Harry pocketed the key and allowed himself to be led away.

Said goblin at least had a nametag on it; Griphook was its name. What followed would have likely had Harry screaming for joy and Minerva moaning in sheer horror if it were not for the fact that he was a dragon. The puny cart ride couldn't even budge his stomach. As it was, only Minerva was moaning in horror. Griphook was very grudgingly impressed at the young child.

Harry accepted a bag from Minerva, which she had enchanted to be bottomless and weightless. Once opened by him, it would read his magic and open only for him. He filled up the bag with the full 1000 Galleon limit from 687 and shrank it – another useful feature. He was tempted to get Minerva something nice in return. The hills of gold in his vault did not truly interest him. After all, they paled in comparison to the actual mountains in his lair. No, what he was truly excited for was seeing his parent's vault, which was next on the itinerary.

"I shall wait here in the cart Harry. I hope you find what you're looking for." Minerva smiled gently at the boy, deciding to give him a bit of privacy for this. Harry nodded gratefully and entered the vault. It was much smaller than the other vault, and had no liquid contents. Instead, it looked almost like a large storage unit. There were trunks lined up on the far wall, six in total. On the sides were large, sturdy shelves, holding a bunch of knick-knacks and other apparel. He shook his head rapidly, trying to hold in his emotions. He approached the trunks, each in a slightly different style, with the three on the left being much more…manly… compared to the feminine ones to the right. On top of the middle two trunks were single letters, each in decidedly different handwriting. He picked up the letter on the left and closed his eyes, clenching them tightly.

He grit his teeth, opening both eyes and the letter itself;

 _My precious son,_

Harry clenched his left fist, tears licking at his eyes. He angrily wiped them away and continued,

 _How does a father write a letter like this, assuming the worst? The father is meant to protect and provide for his loved ones, and if you are reading this, it means that I failed. It is my greatest hope that you shall never see this, and that I will one day be able to tell you all of this in person, when this nightmare is over. We have done everything we could to make sure that we are safe, but Voldemort is unlike any threat we've faced before. I fear even our preparations will not be enough, but we_ will _have the last laugh. Even if your mother and I don't survive, we will go knowing you will be safe from that madman. I would trade my life a thousand times if it meant you and your mother survive._

 _But this letter is not just my final message to you, Harry. This letter is meant to make sure that – at the very least – you know me, and who I was, and that I love you more than you can imagine._

 _My name is James 'Prongs' Potter, your very proud father. I am a Transfiguration Master – the youngest to achieve it since Albus Dumbledore, in fact. I am also an Animagus, which I accomplished with three of my best friends in the early part of my fifth year at Hogwarts._

Harry's eyes, which were leaking quite against his will, lit up in joy and a smile lit up the room. He never would have guessed that his father was an Animagus. It immediately made Harry feel a little closer to the man, knowing that they shared the ability.

 _You'll never find a record of that, so don't bother looking. None of us were registered. We were…troublemakers…in our youth. You can't hear your mother, so allow me to quote her, "You, mister have a knack for severe understatements."_

He choked out a laughed.

 _Yes, we were collectively known in school – secretly of course – as the Marauders. We started small, with tiny pranks targeting a few people. Eventually, by the time we graduated, we accomplished our biggest goal; pranking Headmaster Dumbledore. You may now grovel in sheer awe at your father._

Harry let out a delighted laugh. He had needed this. He never knew how much he needed it until he was here, but he was happy all the same.

 _Unfortunately…as you may be able to tell from that last comment, we were rather…bigheaded. Full of ourselves. I regret much of what we did back then. There were times when we crossed over from pranking into bullying, even unintentionally. Our favorite target was one Severus Snape. He was always a nasty little bugger and gave as good as he got, but three and a half on one was never going to get him anywhere. It didn't help that he was best friends with a wonderful young lady named Lily Evans, who I loved from the moment I first saw her._

 _Your spitfire of a mother_ loathed _me and my friends. For good reason too, for what we did to Snape and my absolutely_ ** _titanic_** _head. I sincerely hope that this is a trait you did NOT inherit from me. But, change can happen at any time, for good or ill. I had already started deflating midway through sixth year. Pranks and such stopped mattering as much to me, as well as one of our quartet. Sirius was a bit more hot blooded than I was, but Remus always had a good head on his shoulders. Peter always was a bit of a hanger-on. He just went with the flow. Then, at the beginning of seventh year, it happened._

 _Potter Manor burned, and the Dark Mark flew above it._

Loud cracks echoed through the vault, as Harry clenched the hand not holding the precious letter into a tight, trembling fist. His skin flashed black and scaly for a moment, before returning to normal as his hand relaxed.

 _Overnight, my goals in life had changed. I no longer wanted to be a Professional Chaser, as I had been dreaming of for the past five years. Instead, I wanted to see Voldemort in a shallow hole with all of his like-minded followers lying beside him. Pranks stopped overnight, and a very different James Potter came to classes. Lily had already started becoming more accepting of me towards the end of the previous year, and it was because of her that I was able to pull myself out of the grave I had been digging. I graduated with top marks beside your mother, and we married soon after. Sirius was our best man, and for the first time since my parent's deaths, I was truly happy._

 _I joined the Auror Corps and finished the training program with distinctions. Then, I was out in the field, capturing what Death Eaters I could and killing those who wished to fight to the bitter end. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy giving them that end._

 _Felt horrible afterwards, of course. It was not a single night that Lily had to comfort me as I emptied my stomach over the lives I had taken._

 _In the course of the War, Lily and I fought Voldemort himself thrice, merely managing to survive long enough for Albus to appear and take over. The Death Eaters feared us completely. Very few of the Inner Circle could hold against even one of us. If Sirius was around for the fight – which he always was – it was usually a rout. But slowly, the war tired us, and Voldemort seemed to always have fresh bodies to throw at us. Gideon and Fabian Prewett fell to a group of five of the strongest of the Inner Circle in an ambush. We began suspecting a spy in our midst. We started losing trust in each other_

 _Then, Albus came to us, warning us that we were in even more danger than usual. He urged your pregnant mum and I to go into hiding, as Voldemort would soon begin targeting us personally. We did not like it, but your safety was more important to us. We went under the Fidelius Charm, which leads me full circle to this letter._

 _Harry, know that you have been a shining light in our lives. There has not been a single moment since you came to us that I have not loved you. My darling son, you are our most precious legacy, and even if we cannot be with you physically, we will always be with you in spirit. Above all else, it is my greatest wish that you are happy, no matter who you choose to become._

 _Inside these trunks are our gifts to you, Harry. The left three are mine, while the right three are from mum. Inside the leftmost trunk, I have every single thing the Marauders ever created. Every prank item, every enchanted item, every spell… Everything. Along with them, are all of the instructions and notes on how to make them. While pranking may not be your thing, there is much in there that you will find useful. Additionally, I have some more…naughty stuff in there. I won't age lock it, despite the death beams your mother is trying use to ignite the back of my head with currently. Instead, I will trust that you will be mature enough to handle it. Have fun and be safe. When you find them, that is._

 _In the middle of my trunks, are all of my own personal creations. All of my personal spells, all of my improvements to spells in transfiguration, instructions on how to make duels go your way, tricks to give yourself an edge in a fight… I dislike the thought of you growing up in a world still in conflict, but I am pragmatic enough to realize it may come to pass. I wish to see you defended._

 _In the rightmost of my trunks, is the most precious gift I can give you Harry. This is a dual compartment trunk, with two different stored dimensions. In the first, there is only one item. A Pensieve. You likely will not know what that is, so I will tell you. It is a runic bowl capable of storing and viewing memories._

Harry's eyes bugged out. This was beyond valuable!

 _In the second stored dimension, there are hundreds of labeled vials of my own memories._

A wet sob escaped him.

 _I'm sure you will find a use for them. If nothing else, it will allow you to feel closer to me. I hope they help give you some of the love I will not be able to._

 _Grow, Harry. Grow, my precious son, and be happy. Grow old, find love, and I will greet you with a smile on my face when it is finally your time._

 _Just take your time. Don't show up here before you turn a hundred._

His laugh was decidedly wet.

 _I love you my son. Take care._

 _James Potter._

"Thank you, dad." He whispered to the empty room, "Know that your sacrifices will not have been in vain. I'll make you both proud." Gently folding the letter once more, he placed it on the right shelf. With one last look at it, he strode back to the trunks and picked up his mother's letter. He had already been on an emotional roller coaster with his father's letter, but he had another to read.

 _My Darling Boy,_

 _My precious son. My Harry. I am so, so very sorry that I could not be there for you. You cannot possibly understand how much of a shining bundle of joy you have been to us. It is my greatest regret that we may not have as much time together as I wish. I wish I could just end this nightmare our world has been living in for the past decade, but I am only one person. We've been trying our hardest, but sometimes it seems like our world itself is fighting us._

 _My name is Lily Evans. I grew up in Cokeworth, with a loving mother and father and an older sister who I looked up to._

Harry had to fight really, _really_ hard to hold back the snarl,

 _For many years, we were a perfectly normal family. But, not always. Strange things began happening to me. A rock levitated here, a toy Petunia was using flying to me there…I was scared. All of these weird things happening, with no explanations. Then, I met a boy. His name was Severus Snape, and he was the one who showed me what I was. A witch. A firstborn witch, the first in my family. He taught me all he knew about Hogwarts and magic, and we became fast friends._

 _It was unfortunate, though I will never regret it. Petunia wasn't a witch, though she wanted to be. She even wrote to Headmaster Dumbledore, begging to be allowed to come with me._

Harry was almost choking, and was turning a color that he would have remembered as being Vernon Purple II. He started to hiss, "That fucking _bitch_. All this time…she was _jealous_!"

 _The refusal – it never had a chance of working after all, since Petunia had no magic – really fractured our relationship. She became angry and spiteful, beginning to dislike me for something I could not change._

 _She was not the only one who disliked me. From the moment I first entered the Wizarding world, I have been discriminated against for being a firstborn. A muggleborn. A_ mudblood _. This conflict has been raging in the wizarding world for millennia. It separated me from Severus eventually – he went to Slytherin while I went to Gryffindor along with your father and his friends. At times, I wished I had taken the hat's advice and gone to Ravenclaw. Toe-rag was an apt description of your father and his Marauders, at least for the first few years we schooled together._

 _From the start, I was an utterly dedicated student. I loved magic, and everything about it. Well, the physical aspects at least. The discrimination was always hurtful, but you either learned to ignore it or let it consume you. I chose to prove them wrong. From the start, I was determined to be the best. I was always top of the class, always researching, and always trying to create new spells. By the time I graduated, I was an accredited Charms Mistress, Runes Mistress, and Potions Mistress. James had more than one accreditation as well, but I suspect he's trying to make up for his early years by being overly modest. He is currently chuckling beside me._

 _Throughout school, I became slowly disenfranchised with Severus. He had gone to a different house, and fell in with quite a bad crowd, trying to fit in. Slowly, I became worried about him, and just as quickly, he started proving me right. In our fifth year, it all came to a head. James and his friends were taunting him, and I helped him._

 _He called me a Mudblood._

Harry snarled. This Snape had best hope they did not cross paths.

 _He regretted it almost immediately, but the damage had been done. My temper had never been what one would call mild –_

Here the writing changed back to his father's more manly writing;

– _Unless you consider Habanero as_ ** _mild_** –

Harry started cackling like a madman at his father's quip, and Lily rapidly took over once more.

 _Ignore your father Harry. He is an unmitigated moron who thinks he's funny._

His tears had dried, and he wiped his eyes for what he hoped was the last time, but the routine in the letter had done wonders for his mood.

 _Now. I had been hearing rumors – and praying that they were untrue – that Severus might have been thinking of joining the Death Eaters. I asked him if he did truly plan on joining, and he didn't respond. I'm honestly unsure if he knew what he had been getting himself into, but that day cemented it for me. He wasn't the boy I had grown up with anymore. I parted ways with him, and we were never close again._

 _Slowly, I started getting closer to James. It was a huge relief when he stopped being – excuse me if you're still a little young when you read this – a braying jackass. When that happened, I discovered – quite to my surprise – that he was not in fact all that bad. As we grew closer, I started falling for him. He took me on one date, and it was magical. He had truly turned himself around._

 _Then, came the attack on Potter Manor, and everything almost fell apart. James fell into a deep depression, and was just so full of rage. We almost split because of it, but I tried to stick through it and help him. Slowly, he healed. Healed, but never forgot. In seventh year he resigned from the Quidditch team and spent all of the time he was not being a boyfriend learning to fight._

 _I had never wanted to fight myself, but seeing James in that state made me realize that all the Dark needed to win was for the good people to do nothing. I realized that these monsters would_ never _leave us in peace. James and I married right out of school, and I was recruited into the Unspeakables. Their training was even more brutal than the Auror training was, if what I've been able to compare with James is correct. It was well worth it. James and I had the highest kill and capture counts on our side of the war. I am not proud of causing those deaths, but after walking into one particular scene which I will not describe here, I will never regret them._

 _My time was not spent only fighting though. That's not a way to live. Dueling is fine – fun even – but constantly struggling for your life, where one misstep is the difference between life and death… Anyone sane would go mad. The rest of my time in the Unspeakables was spent doing what I loved; researching. The results of that research, I now pass to you._

 _My darling boy, it pains me to know that one day you may wake up without me there to hold you, to dry your tears, to see you smile… Know that I will always love you, and I will always be there with you, even if I can't be by your side._

 _In these trunks are everything I can think of to make sure you survive to a ripe old age, surrounded by your loved ones. The trunk you found this letter on has only one compartment. After all, I can hardly guess at what you would do with a second Pensieve. Inside, you will find my memories. I hope you will treasure them._

 _Inside the middle trunk, I have all of my research. Every theory – proven and unproven – and every spell I've created. There is one in particular in here that I never even tried to publish. The interest I had in beginning that project started when I first saw your father transform. My research yielded…interesting results. Dangerous results. Be careful with it, Harry._

 _The last trunk contains my diaries, as well as all of my personal schoolbooks. You'll find quite a few of my creations scribbled inside of them. I truly hope you will never need these, and that I will be able to teach you myself, but like your father I will not leave you with nothing should the worst come to pass. If you wish to take any of these trunks, simply touch the marking in the middle of each and say the word "Shrink." They will do so, and you'll be able to bring them with you wherever you go. They are as indestructible as money can make them, but still, be careful with them. You will not find replacements for the contents should they be lost._

 _Live your life Harry. Find love. Start a family. Discover your passions and follow them. Know that we will support you always._

 _Goodbye, my darling boy,_

 _Lily Potter_

Harry sank slowly to his knees, rubbing furiously at his eyes. His entire life, he had been told he was worthless. That he was a freak. That his parents were washed up drunks who never wanted and had gotten themselves killed in a car crash. Now, he knew the truth. His parents had loved him beyond anything, and would always be proud of him.

He punched the floor, his draconic strength cracking the stone tiles. He climbed to his feet and shrank each of the trunks, slipping them into his pockets. He would have to discuss ways of securing these with his professor.

He got up with a sigh, and took one last look around the more spacious vault. Those letters had been emotional for him, and he didn't think he could handle anything else at the moment. He would have to return at some point. He walked out and shut the door firmly, getting back into the cart. Minerva shot him a worried glance, "Are you alright, Harry?"

His eyes were no doubt red and his face blotchy and bloated, but he felt lighter than he had in years. He smiled, "Never better. Shall we?" Griphook did not wait for a response and they were zooming through the tunnels once more.

-]|[-

In the end, the rest of the shopping trip was much less eventful than the trip underground had been. It was rather early in the season, since Albus had spelled the Book of Names to skip to Harry's letter roughly a week after term had ended. As such, the Alley wasn't as full of current and prospective students as it would be in the coming weeks. The children were more interested in vacationing than in buying school materials, after all.

As such, the lines were short, and the day progressed rapidly. Even the bookstore did not keep them for long, as Harry knew he had almost two full months to assault its shelves. The only part of the day that was actually eventful was the purchase of Harry's wand.

Student and professor entered the dusty shop talking animatedly about transfiguration. It was a subject Harry knew he would enjoy, especially after having found out that his own father was an Animagus. He absently rang the bell, and did not jump when the old, gray-eyed man came out from the shadows. "Good evening, Mr. Potter. Minerva."

"Hello," Harry said cheerfully, "Would you be Ollivander himself or do you just run the store?" He enquired. Minerva chuckled. She was sure his bluntness would get him in trouble at some point, but for now it was rather amusing.

Ollivander smiled, "Ollivander I am." He confirmed in an odd way, "I thought I would be seeing you here soon, Mr. Potter." He turned to McGonagall, "You, on the other hand, I have not seen in quite some time. How are you, Minerva? Fir and dragon heartstring, nine and a half inches, quite stiff and excellent for transfiguration, wasn't it?"

The proud woman smiled, "Indeed." That wand had been with her through thick and thin, and she cherished it. "I have been well, for the most part."

Ollivander turned back to Harry, "You look quite like your father, young Potter. Were it not for your eyes – which shine like your mother's – I might even have mistaken you for his long lost twin." He smiled, "It seems like only yesterday, when they came to me for their first wands. Your mother favored a willow wand. Swishy. Ten and a quarter inches long and perfect for charms. Your father, on the other hand, had a wand made of mahogany. Eleven inches and pliable. More powerful than your mother's wand, and excellent for transfiguration. Of course, I say favored, when that is not entirely correct. It is, after all, the wand that chooses the wizard. I do wonder which will choose you." He had not blinked once during his speech, and Harry matched him, "You will be a difficult customer." The man smiled excitedly, "I can see the sheer power in your aura. Never have I seen one such as yours in all my years. Or at least never on one so young."

He clapped, and summoned a tape measure, "Now, which is your wand arm?"

"I am right handed." Harry said cheerfully. He looked forward to seeing which wand would be his.

That excitement lasted roughly twenty minutes, when even his smile had started to become rather strained as the boxes of tried wands piled up. Worse was the pile of boxes and flimsy wooden shelves on the floor – Harry was rather sorry about that incident – which had collapsed when one wand reacted rather badly to Harry.

Ollivander on the other hand, looked like a child who was told Christmas was coming twice that year. He was muttering to himself, pulling boxes left and right, before taking a look at the box and then Harry and putting it back. Finally, he came forward with a black box, "Holly, Phoenix feather. It is eleven inches and nice and supple."

Immediately, Harry felt a spark with this wand. It was weak, faint, but it was more than he had felt with any of the others. "I felt something that time." He declared, "It still feels wrong though. The connection feels weak." He frowned, wondering why that was.

Ollivander scratched at his head. He'd been rather confident with that one. "Well, come on in the back, Mr. Potter. That was the strongest of the wands I had in the front of the shop. Only its brother wand could match it."

"I wasn't aware wands could have brothers." Minerva spoke up as she followed the two.

"It is not surprising, Minerva. Not many do. Only those who have put a bit of study into wandlore such as myself or Albus would know of it." Ollivander replied absently.

"Was the brother wand sold?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes." Ollivander shuddered, "Yew, thirteen and a half inches. Incredibly powerful." He stopped and looked at Harry in the eyes, "It is a wand that you would know well." He said gravely, "It gave you that scar." Minerva gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

Harry's eyes hardened, "I see."

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every. Single. One. That wand went on to do great things. _Terrible_." He said quickly when he saw the fury in the boy's eyes, "But great nonetheless. Here we are." He stated as they reached the room, which he unlocked with a drop of blood. "Here are my masterpieces. The wands contained in this collection are some of the greatest achievements of the Ollivanders since our founding – either for their disastrous failures or for the sheer power they contained and the difficulty in crafting them. If we cannot find a wand for you here, then I will have to make a custom wand for the first time in almost a hundred years." He almost looked like he was hoping all of these would fail as well.

Harry smirked, "Was Headmaster Dumbledore the last?"

"Indeed he was." Ollivander chuckled, "Well, let us begin. Black Ironwood and Acromantula silk web. Whippy, twelve inches. One of the most…difficult wands I've ever made. The wood itself is heavy and doesn't usually tend towards good spellcasting, and therefore needed an extremely light core and thin design. You can absolutely forget about using it underwater. Try."

He held out the wand to Harry, whose hand got within five inches of it before his entire body jerked back involuntarily. His eyes wide, Harry hissed, "Definitely not. I couldn't even get close to that one. It felt… _wrong_."

Ollivander chuckled, "I had thought not, but it was worth a try nonetheless. Here, Plum, nine and three-quarters inches. Flexible with dual phoenix feathers for its core. Good for transfiguration and extremely powerful in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry grabbed it from him easily that time, and felt slightly warm, "That was about the same as the last wand we tried in the other room. Decent, but not quite right." He said with a frown.

"It appears you are heavily aligned with fire for some reason." Ollivander muttered to himself, missing Harry's smug grin and Minerva's internal groan. "Well–" he straightened, "– that certainly gives us some information." He skipped over three of the wands, one of which looked decidedly green, and grabbed one that was slightly yellowed. "Atlas Cedar wood with the heartstring of a particularly violent Hungarian Horntail. Sturdy, thirteen and a half inches."

Harry rejected that one with a single touch, shaking his head. And so the journey continued to find a troublesome young wizard his wand.

-]|[-

"I must say Mr. Potter, when I guessed you would be a difficult customer I didn't quite expect this." They were down to the last wand in the shop that Ollivander felt had even a remote chance of matching the boy. He held it in his hands, turning it gently and contemplating it. "This wand, Mr. Potter, was the last wand my father ever created." He stated, "Knowing his time was near, he decided to make his last wand with every experimental and dangerous technique he had never before dared to attempt."

Ollivander turned to him sternly, "I am often asked why most wands contain only one core, or why wands are never made of blended woods. The reason for that is the fact that such attempts end up in only one way eighty-five percent of the time; death. Dual cores are uncommon, but not non-existent. Weaker second cores are usually effective in helping control a stronger, unstable core. Other than the wand I am holding, Tri cores have been seen a total of ten times in all of history. Three were lost forever without ever choosing a partner, and a further two overloaded when they met their match, exploding and harming everyone in the vicinity. The five that were chosen and used, all went on to change the world. Nicholas Flamel was the last to gain the allegiance of one." He smiled without humor, "The more cores you try to fit into a wand, the more powerful they become. Unfortunately, the difficulty in making them also increases exponentially with each core, and – more importantly – failures become increasingly unstable and violent. The only ever attempt to include seven cores caused the sinking of Atlantis." Harry's eyebrows were raised high and Minerva let out a gasp.

He beckoned them to follow him, and led them to a completely stone room in the basement with a single large entranceway. In the middle of the room was a single pedestal. He placed the wand gently on top of it and turned, "Blended woods, on the other hand, are flatly impossible. Many have tried, and there has never been a single recorded success. To use multiple woods, they must be separate parts of the wand. Which leads us full circle, Mr. Potter, to this." He gestured at the wand.

It was a rather beautiful wand, Harry had to say. It had two different colors, a light shaft and a reddish handle carved almost like a claw. It was polished to a high sheen. "It is rather beautiful." He smiled, "And I can feel it's presence from here."

Ollivander held back a wince, "I had…hoped you would not say that. I saved this wand for last for a reason. I had hoped not to bring it out." He sighed, "As I said, this bout of madness in wand form was the last successful creation of my father, and in many ways can be considered his magnum opus. Even if he expected it to never sell, it was still his most stubborn and difficult creation."

"What is it made of?" Harry asked in interest. He was getting a very different feeling from that wand and he wasn't even all that close to it.

Ollivander held back a groan and stepped out of the room, dragging Minerva with him. He kneeled at the entrance and looked Harry in the eyes, "That wand is Ironwood – or Hornbeam – in its body. Sturdy. The handle is made from a branch taken from the oldest Giant Sequoia in the world, ravaged by fire yet enduring." He said, "The core, taken by itself, is a single willingly-given feather of a Royal Phoenix. If you're wondering, that is just a phoenix with white plumage and fire. Not entire sure why it was named as such, but I suppose its fire is a tad hotter than most other colorations of phoenix. However, the feather's preparation must be taken into account. It was bathed for seven days and nights in a potion made of forcibly taken dragon's blood –" Minerva let out a shocked gasp, "– and a powdered Chimera Scale." Minerva looked like she wanted to drag Harry out of the store and not look back. "Therefore, it is technically a tri-core wand. It is without doubt the most powerful wand I have ever personally seen."

Ollivander saw Harry's determined grin, and made sure the boy understood what he could be getting himself into, "Mr. Potter, this wand sounds powerful and sounds excellent, but it will fight you every step of the way until you master it fully. It will be the most unyielding, dangerous, bucking bronco of a wand you have ever seen." He stated seriously, and saw the boy's eyes sharpen. "If you should do the improbable and master it…" He didn't have to finish his statement.

"I will." Harry said calmly, and walked forward to the pedestal.

Ollivander could not keep his muttering to himself, "Blasted children." He grumbled, "Can never take the easy way out. I can make him his own wand with far less risk of dismemberment."

Minerva deadpanned, "At least you don't have to teach him."

Ollivander snorted, and Harry snickered, having heard the exchange, "Very well, Mr. Potter. If you truly feel you are up to the challenge, then take up the wand." His voice turned formal, "Ironwood and Giant Sequoia, thirteen inches exactly. Extremely rigid with a Phoenix Feather, Dragon Blood, and powdered Chimera Scale Tri-Core." He snarked, "Or as I like to call it, Insanity in a Stick." A shimmering blue barrier rose at the entranceway and he quickly backed away, holding his arm out and pressing both himself and Minerva to the wall.

Inside the now locked and protected room, Harry gazed hard at the wand sitting innocently on its pedestal. He held his hand out and the wand levitated. He took a step forward and gestured. The wand floated to him and lay in his open right hand, not touching skin. "Well, Wand… I will be your new partner." He said. "Get used to it." His fingers closed around the handle.

A star burst into existence.

A raging, white inferno surrounded the boy, roaring its displeasure. Minerva gasp and tried to run forward, even as they clutched at their eyes and cast spells to protect them, but Ollivander held her back. "No!" he yelled, "We must let it run its course. Nothing good will come of interrupting it!" Even with all of the protection woven into that room, the sweltering heat escaped. Both of the elders burst into an instant, heavy sweat, and the wooden floorboards at their feet started smoldering.

Then, as quickly as it started, the firestorm began dying down. Inside the room, the inferno began retreating as the bond completed and Harry began exerting his will on the wand. It went. Not quietly by any means, but it went all the same. The white fire which had been spewing from all corners of the wand retreated, leaving what appeared to be a perfectly normal wand in his hand.

He turned and smiled at the elders, who couldn't quite see him. After roughly two minutes of rubbing their eyes and trying to get the white spots to leave their vision, Ollivander and Minerva were finally able to gaze into the room.

It was slag.

Molten rock oozed from all corners of the room, and the entire floor was red hot and liquid. Harry was calmly floating over it, holding that death stick in his hand and a proud smile on his face.

Completely and utterly starkers.

Minerva blinked, "Mr. Potter! Hide your shame!"

Harry blinked, looking down. He turned to Minerva and laughed, "We have got to stop meeting like this."

-]|[-

All in all, the rest of the day was rather boring. He got his supplies, but unfortunately, not a pet. None of the animals in the shop wanted anything to do with him.

He couldn't imagine why.

So, with the shopping done and a room rented for the next two months at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry bid goodbye to his transfiguration teacher.

The next two months passed with some good times, as well as some hard times. Ollivander's words proved prophetic, and his wand was as stubborn as could be. He'd gone back to Ollivanders a few times to talk to the old wandmaker and learn about wands themselves. Wands, he learned, had their own personality-facsimiles. They essentially had their own memory – for lack of a better term – of what they had been in life. As such, wands could be proud, and wands could be anything under the sun, for good or ill to their wielders. He learned the wands made with hippogriff feathers, for example, had an alarming tendency to turn on their owners if they felt that their owners had lost respect for what they wielded.

His wand was as proud and stubborn as expected. Every spell he learned using it had to almost literally be forced through the wand. He got quite a bit of practice with his wandless casting, when the wand was being particularly uncooperative.

Two days after purchasing it when Albus arrived with his vambrace, the wand had almost rioted at its owner's weakened state. It was only quick casting from Albus that had saved the room, and possibly the inn itself. After bonding to his vambrace – officially called an Arcane Inhibitor – the wand was spitting mad and had burst into flames on numerous occasions. But things were improving. Harry persevered, and kept working with the wand, and slowly, it grew a grudging respect for him.

Albus popped by every other day for his lessons. For three hours a night, Harry learned under one of the greatest minds currently alive in the wizarding world. It was nothing strenuous. At times, Albus simply spoke through the whole lesson on some theory or helped Harry with a spell he was having trouble with. His training with the vambrace was slow, but at least it was progressing. He had managed to completely control the furnace effect, but not the predatory aura that so scared the animals and humans alike. Thankfully, that was suppressed to a low level with the Inhibitor when it was active.

What was not progressing in the slightest was the thing Albus and Minerva had hoped for the most when leaving him at the Cauldron, much to their chagrin; his social life. After a gaggle of irritating seven year olds had recognized him one day in the alley and hounded him until he managed to get far enough out of sight to apparate to the Yukon, he had been much more reserved around others. He was a person damn it, not something to admire as if he was an attraction at a zoo!

And so the next two months passed in much the same way the past five years had passed; studying, sleeping, and learning magic.

-]|[-

Harry whistled in appreciation at the sight of the gleaming scarlet engine in front of him. "Not entirely sure _why_ a bunch of wizarding children are taking a train to school when we can just travel there magically, but damn if it doesn't look good." He muttered. He was very early, and the platform was almost deserted. There were very few early risers, or at least very few of them that cared to spend hours waiting on the train. Harry on the other hand, had no reason to wait around. He hopped on the train and took the first empty compartment he could find, which was near the middle but closer to the front. He absently shoved his trunk – which he had carried without a care on his shoulder – into one of the luggage racks.

He flicked his wand out of his vambrace and transfigured the rough, hard arm rest on the right side of benches near the window into a black, fluffy pillow. If not for the embroidered emerald flames on it, it would have been a perfect transfiguration attempt. His eye twitched. "Bloody smartass wand." He flicked it again and the flames disappeared. The wand felt displeased. Fire was awesome! He could almost feel the wand pout and glower in his hand. He ignored its whining and put it back into the vambrace, before pulling out a transfiguration book and opening it up to where he had left off. He settled on his pillow, sprawling out on the seat and relaxing.

He passed the time in silence, enjoying the book. But before too long, the station started to come alive as more and more families came in; muggle, half-blood and pureblood alike. The platform's noise levels started to rise, with Harry mostly ignoring it in favor of his book. This did not, however, last too long.

The door opened, rousing his attention for the first time in a couple hours. He smiled at the newcomers, "Morning, ladies." It was two girls in particular, already in their school robes. He guessed that they were at least half-bloods from one of the old families, from the quality of their robes. The one on the right was a brunette, though calling her hair brunette was akin to saying a really deep, unlit cave was 'rather dark.' Her eyes were a beautiful purple, and she was rather tall. Not quite up to his height, but perhaps her friend was simply making her look taller than she was. All in all, she was quite pretty. The other girl was a redhead with some rather wild looking hair. She had light freckles covering her equally pretty face and wide, ice-blue eyes. She was also fairly short, looking downright tiny next to the other girl.

The brunette inclined her head at him, but did not smile, "Daphne Greengrass. My friend here is Tracey Davis." The other girl waved cheerfully.

"A pleasure." Harry met Tracey's cheer. He had, after all, promised to make an effort to make some friends at Hogwarts. "Are you two looking for seats? There is plenty of room."

Tracey smiled while Daphne merely quirked her lips, "Thank you." They closed the door and sat, putting their matchbox-sized trunks inside the luggage compartments and expanded them – or rather, Daphne did as Tracey was too short to reach. It was rather adorable.

Tracey spoke for the first time, "So stranger. You planning on giving us a name or shall I just call you green-eyes for the rest of your life?" She had an amused glint in her eyes, and Daphne let out a small smile.

Harry chuckled, "Well as nicknames go, I suppose I could do with worse. My name is Harry Potter."

Thankfully, their reactions weren't…explosive. "Wow, a pleasure to meet you, Harry!" Tracey chirped. She held the urge to request a view of the scar. It would be rather rude and forward of her, after all. Daphne merely looked more interested in him than before.

Harry sighed in relief, "Oh good."

Daphne blinked, "What's good?"

Harry laughed, "I was rather worried about your reactions. The last people who realized who I was almost started a damn riot in Diagon. I barely escaped with my life." He shuddered.

Tracey was too busy cackling to say anything, but Daphne snickered and visibly warmed up, "Well, you don't have to worry about that with us." She smiled at him, "Very fortunately, we're not a pair of vapid idiots."

"Hear, hear!" Harry grinned. He wasn't sure if they would become good friends, but he could tell he liked the pair.

"So, Harry." Tracey said, "What's that you're reading? I don't recognize it from this list of books we need."

"Oh this?" He lifted the book had had been reading before they came in, "This is something written by Headmaster Dumbledore." Both girls gasped and sat up straighter.

"Oh wow!" Tracey breathed, "Our parents don't like Dumbledore too much, but even the darkest of families in the wizarding world acknowledge that he's a genius and wouldn't pass up a chance to learn from him! How did you get it?"

Harry chuckled, "He leant it to me." Both girls gasped, "If you get to know me, you'll find I'm quite… _gifted_ …at transfiguration." He chuckled slightly at the understatement of the century.

Daphne gaped, "Wait, you don't mean the books are actually true, do you?"

Harry chuckled, "Which ones?"

Tracey babbled a bit, but he'd excuse her for that, "The stupid Harry Potter children's series! Have you really been in secret training with Dumbledore for years?"

Harry started cackling, and Tracey did look a bit affronted, so he hurried to answer, "No, no. Nothing of the sort. I took a look through that garbage and – while I'm glad they labelled it as fiction – I'm really irritated that they were printed at all. The children especially who met me in Diagon during the summer had entirely too much hero worship directed at me. It was actually really maddening." He shook his head, "No, I'm afraid the truth was nothing of the sort, and a… fair bit less _lighthearted_ than those stories." He looked at them, his smile gone, "Hope you don't mind, but I'd rather keep my upbringing to myself for now. Perhaps if we become good friends, I would let you know all about it."

The girls looked pretty sober, "It was nothing…bad…right?" Tracey looked rather down in particular.

Harry snorted, "It certainly was…unpleasant. I only met Headmaster Dumbledore two months ago." He clapped his hands, "But enough of that Debbie Downer shit." He smiled, trying to bring the mood back up, "I can sense that you girls are already fairly accomplished for what I'm assuming are your ages. Feel free to correct me on that. What kinds of magic do you know?"

Daphne smiled gently, "We're both first years, same as you, I think?" He nodded happily, "We both come from pureblood families, though Tracey is a half-blood herself. Our parents have taught us a lot of the basics, as is common in such families. Me especially, since my birthday is in two days and I'm actually almost twelve. There was no way they could have kept me from a wand for an additional year, so I have quite a head start." She had a 'cat-that-ate-the-canary' grin, and looked quite smug, "Additionally, we have our own personal family magic. Tracey and I have been friends since we could crawl." She smirked, "But if you have your secrets, then we have ours too. We won't show you our family magic unless you can guess what they are." Tracey had an equally devious look on her face, and she nodded.

Harry laughed and settled back in his pillow, smirking confidently at the girls. He began stretching out his senses, just as Albus had shown him. "Hmm…" His eyes started to burn with an inner fire, and the pupil became slightly elongated as though he was undergoing his transformation, "Your magic feels particularly…chaotic. Almost…electric I would say." He said, and both girl's jaws dropped as they began to realize exactly how advanced the boy they were sharing a compartment with was.

"H-Holy shit! You can already sense magic!" Tracey yelped in her shock.

Daphne said nothing, though she was equally as surprised as her best friend. She didn't even reprimand her on her language. Harry laughed, "Indeed. It is a very useful skill, and was necessary for me to learn due to an issue I had." He smiled gently at Tracey, "Your magic looks very beautiful Tracey. Like a rainbow. You also appear to have particularly dense nodes of magic on your back and in your arms."

The glow in his eyes dimmed back to their normal bright emerald and his pupil returned to normal. He grinned at them, and Tracey was the first to recover. She smiled back brightly, "Indeed! The Davis magic has always been beautiful! Long ago we migrated from Norway, and took up permanent residence in Britain. Despite that-" She grinned, and did a twirl, and her back began to shine before bright rainbow wings erupted behind her. She began to float, and everyone in the room felt happier than they had a moment prior at the beautiful sight, "-We have always had daughters blessed by Freya!" She floated back down and the wings disappeared. She turned to Daphne who gave a small grin and a quick nod. "Though for the past millennia, it has always been the Greengrasses who have brought the thunder and the _lightning_."

With the final word, one of Daphne's arms became consumed by the element. No, more precisely, her arm _became_ the lightning. As it crackled and sparked, the door opened. "Hello, I was wondering if I could si- Oh my!" The girl gasped as she saw Daphne's power. She had bushy brown hair and chocolate eyes. She was shorter than Daphne but taller than Tracey, who would glower when she realized that fact. Daphne quickly cut her lightning show short and dropped her arm. The girl at the doorway, stared for a moment, before shaking herself, "That was really awesome! I've learned plenty from the books of course, but nothing as amazing as that!" She chirped, "Is there space for one more in here?"

Harry smiled, "By all means." He gestured her in. The girl beamed before turning and grabbing at something. She strained a bit, and a heavy looking trunk was slowly dragged through the doorway. Harry chuckled but got up to give her a hand, "You may want to learn the feather-light charm if you're going to be lugging around a ton of bricks." He teased, making the girl flush. The three girls then gaped slightly as he effortlessly lifted it and shoved into the now-even-larger luggage compartment. "Jeez, I didn't think you actually had bricks in there. Did you pack your whole library?" He laughed at her increasingly red face as he went back to his pillow.

Blushing furiously, she replied, "I _may_ have overdone it a tad." She sat near the other two, seeing as he was kind of hogging most of the space on the other side. Tracey snorted and Daphne's lips quirked. "Oh!" She jumped slightly, "How rude of me! My name is Hermione Granger. A pleasure to meet you all." She said with a slight curtsey.

Tracey offered her hand with a smile, "Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass!" She shook with Hermione, "This lug over here is Harry." She jerked her head in his direction, earning an indignant call from the lug in question. "You a muggleborn Hermione?" She asked, though it didn't really need to be.

Hermione's posture closed up slightly, Harry noticed. Clearly, she'd already had a run in with some blood supremacists. Her magic was broiling within her in an instant, though not like Daphne's. No, she seemed very nervous. "Ah, yes I am." She replied hesitantly.

Tracey realized that the question had set her on edge almost as quickly as he did, and gave her a reassuring look, "Was just confirming it was all. You can relax. I'm a half-blood myself, and both of our families from the past century or so have been much more tolerant than they used to be." Hermione looked relieved, and gave her a hesitant smile. "You'll probably want to avoid Slytherin house though." She said seriously, "A good number of the worst believers of blood supremacy – which I'm fairly certain you've already run into – will be going straight there."

Hermione had a frown, "Really, I don't see what all the dislike is coming from. Muggles are a lot more tolerant and much more advanced that they ever were in centuries past."

Daphne was the one who answered, slipping some of her silky black hair behind her ear, "Most of the pureblood families do not acknowledge that fact, if they're even aware of it. Wizards and Witches live for a very long time, and have very long memories. Our headmaster is almost a hundred and forty years old, and the OWL examiner who tested him is still in the Ministry doing her job. In the face of that fact, it is not that hard to see why we have been so slow in accepting the muggleborn. A fair number of them take the fact that muggles don't have magic as outright proof that they're lesser beings. It's all tosh, of course…" She said with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"I see." Hermione did see, but her frown did not go away. "What houses are you all hoping for? I think I would like Gryffindor myself. Wouldn't mind Ravenclaw either. Both sound rather exciting!" She tried changing the subject, seeing as how it was a rather depressing issue.

Tracey spoke for the both of them, "We'll both be Slytherins." Hermione deflated, "We both have a lot of ambition. Daphne wants to be Minister one day, and – due to my upbringing with a Pureblood mother and Muggleborn father – I've always been interested in trying to combine magic and technology. I want to run a successful company." She exclaimed with a raised fist, and fire in her eyes. She looked rather fierce and fiery, which Harry found very attractive.

Harry snorted, drawing their attention, "If I had my way, I wouldn't be sorted at all."

Daphne couldn't help herself and actually laughed at that, "Good luck! You have a zero percent chance of avoiding _that_ particular tradition."

"I know." He sighed, "It just seems stupid and idiotic to sort, label, and stereotype a bunch of eleven year olds. Most of us are too busy drooling over racing brooms or wondering if that girl will like you." He scratched his head, "Most of us don't know what we want out of our lives, and despite that we'll be separated and practically segregated."

Daphne sighed, "I do agree with you. My parents and Tracey's do as well. But there's not much that can be done about it. Its _tradition_." She sneered. "I'm all for tradition and I'm all for our cultural heritage, but tradition for tradition's sake is meaningless." If anyone asked her if she thought that up herself or if she'd picked it up from her mother, she'd lie until she was blue in the face.

Harry snorted, "But it is worse than that. If the house system worked as intended and you were sorted because of the qualities that you embodied, it would be acceptable. But it isn't. I've had a lot of contact with Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall the past two months, and even they agree that the house system has lost its meaning."

Daphne and Tracey especially were looking at him with wide eyes, "Wow, really? I would have expected them to have the opposite opinion!" Hermione cut in for the first time.

Harry shook his head, "Slytherin. The house of the cunning and ambitious. On paper, it's the house that you go to if you wish to be great; if you want to change the world!" His grin was very, very sardonic, "I have more than enough ambition for it, and would have liked to join you two ladies there, if reality was the same as it is on paper. Instead, in recent years it has turned into the house of blood supremacy, playground politics, and whoever's daddy has the biggest wallet."

Tracey sputtered, before breaking out into a fit of giggles, "Oh Merlin! Harry, why would you do that to me? I might actually not get sorted there now because that's all I'll be thinking about." She cackled. Daphne was quietly giggling along with Hermione.

Harry laughed himself for a second, before continuing, "Ravenclaw! The house of Knowledge, Wit, Learning and Wisdom! A haven for the studious sorts! Unfortunately, they also have become rather close-minded and intolerant in recent times. In the past couple of years, Ravenclaw has had the most cases of in-house bullying, and it is always for someone daring to be different." Hermione looked extremely disappointed with what she was hearing, "All in all, it is proof that all the intelligence in the world won't help those who are truly stupid."

"Oh but I like this. If only I had some popcorn." Tracey had a wide smirk gracing her features, "And what about the other two? You better have some acidic commentary for them as well."

Harry smirked back, "Good old Hufflepuff!" He exclaimed, "The house of the hard-working and the loyal! Or – if you ask the rest of Hogwarts – the house of the duffers and leftovers." His grin disappeared, "Some of them have even started to believe it themselves. Quite sad really."

Hermione mewled, "This house system is looking more and more unappealing with each word." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Quite. I've had two months of questions and discussions to draw my own conclusions." Harry said, "Dumbledore and McGonagall tried to be impartial, but their own dissatisfaction did shine through on some occasions. But even worse for the Hufflepuffs isn't the opinions of the rest of the school, but of opinions in general. As the house of the loyal, they must support their own." He snarked, "And that means that whoever bleats the loudest claims the opinion of the rest of the house, and even if some of them feel it may be wrong, they'll go with it just to not stick out."

Hermione and Tracey groaned in unison. "Can we just – I don't know – go on strike or something? That sometimes works in the muggle world." Hermione groused.

Daphne didn't look any more pleased, "Like I said. Tradition. Good luck."

Harry fist pumped, "And lastly, good old Noble Gryffindor! The house of the Brave and the Courageous!" He stopped and waited a beat, for the two Slytherin-to-be ladies to get irritated at the lack of commentary, "Or rather, the house where the solution to getting a square peg in a round hole is a bigger hammer."

All three girls burst into giggles. Trying to calm herself, Hermione managed to get out, "The whole system seems counter-productive. I say we ignore it and remain friends no matter where we end up!" She then seemed to remember herself and visibly shrank inwards, "I-I mean if you want to be friends." She seemed very small, shy, and unsure of herself all of a sudden.

Tracey have her a one armed hug and pulled her in, "Yeah, friends!" Daphne shared a smile with Harry, and both nodded. Hermione almost looked like she was going to cry, and merely graced them with a rather watery, shiny-eyed smile.

-]|[-

At the other side of the country, an old man and a greasy-haired man sat at opposite ends of the table. "You're sure of this?" Severus Snape asked for what seemed like the tenth time. This was the first time the two men had managed to meet face-to-face since the end of the previous school year, as Snape had gone abroad to widen his potions knowledge.

Even Albus Dumbledore was starting to lose his patience a little, "Yes, Severus. I felt no presence whatsoever in young Harry's scar. If I was right and it _was_ a Horcrux, it exists no longer."

"What could have caused it?" Snape enquired.

Albus had theories, and usually he would share them with the younger man in front of him. But Harry's dragon form was his own secret, and Severus really had no business knowing about it. "I'm afraid I am at a loss. I have a guess, but only a guess. Horcruxes are dreadful creations as you know, but I've never read of a single case where the creation of one was not premeditated. I cannot imagine that it could simply _happen_." Albus said, "Furthermore, its disappearance when we _know_ that Tom is not gone for good supports my theory that he made more than a single one of those abominations."

Snape nodded, "I had been contemplating it myself, and I agree." He fixed his beady eyes on the headmaster, "So what is your theory?"

Albus sighed and shifted in his chair, "While I believe that whatever was inside that scar was indeed a piece of Tom Riddle's soul, I do not believe it was a true Horcrux. Lily's protection was capable of reflecting a _Killing Curse_. I can't imagine that it would be capable of that and _not_ capable of at least fighting to keep a Horcrux from the same man from latching on to her son. I think Tom's fragmented soul was broken even further by his rebounded curse. A small sliver managed to worm its way onto Harry, but not latch on completely." He stated, "It acted like a leech more than a true Horcrux, but was indistinguishable from a true Horcrux. His mother's protection likely kept it from bonding completely to his soul and magic." His mustache quirked, "Then, when the… _incident_ … happened, it was too much for the leech to bear and it was forced out. Without a host, and with nothing living to latch on to, it evaporated."

"It is…plausible, I suppose." Snape allowed.

"Indeed. I have no proof, but I do have the evidence. Harry Potter is no longer a Horcrux, if he ever truly was."

-]|[-

The past few hours had been entertaining. The train had finally started moving, and the four newly-discovered friends had spent much of the trip getting to know each other. Harry had dug a little, and learned that Hermione had grown up as friendless as he did, though that went unmentioned. Hermione had grown up in a household lacking a great deal of emotional support. Her parents were both dentists and they had precious little time to spend with her. They were a typical pair of adults who had lost sight of the important things in order to advance their business. Sure, they always told Hermione that they loved her, but actions spoke louder than words. To compensate, Hermione had always been very studious and – as she was left to her own devices more and more often – had become a friendless bookworm. Children, cruel little buggers that they were, were more intimidated than impressed by her intelligence and ostracized her harshly.

She had been a very lonely person all her life, but unlike him, she had never transformed into a dragon. "Do not worry about the little gremlins you are leaving behind." Harry told her, quite seriously. She had looked shocked, and almost looked ready to break down slightly at his dismissal of her worries, "True friends are those that accept you for who you are." He said, getting nods of agreement from the other two young ladies, "Why should you care about a nameless face? In ten years you'll look back at your early life and not even remember their names." He said, "They're no-bodies, and you shouldn't let them hurt you any longer."

"But-" She started.

"No buts." Daphne cut her off with a smile, while Tracey rubbed her back in comfort, "Harry is right. You are who you are, and if they can't deal with that then they're not worth having as a friend. You are intelligent, Hermione. Brilliant even. It took ten minutes for me to teach you the levitation charm." She said with a bright spark in her eyes, "You have no idea how rare that is for a muggleborn."

"Daphne is right." Harry said, "Everyone starts off from the same point. No one is born with an advantage – other than sheer power perhaps, but that is irrelevant if you have no knowledge. However, the purebloods and the half-bloods usually do have the advantage of growing up around magic. They usually live around magic their whole lives, and have their family magic as well as a head start on magical theory." He stated, "Muggleborn such as yourself do not have that advantage. You come into this world blind, and most of you take many, many years to build up the magical power and magical knowledge necessary to become truly competent spell casters. You have an affinity with magic."

Hermione was rapidly turning red as he spoke, "You will shine amongst us, and be successful whenever you dedicate yourself to something. You have that _spark_. And in doing so, you will catch the attention of the masses. They will belittle you and try to bring you to their level, and you will sink if you let them. Do not worry about hanger-on's and false friends. Do not pay any attention to leeches who will smile and beg you for study tips in one breath and insult you behind your back in the next. Be who you want to be, for yourself. No one else's opinion's matter but yours and those of your true friends."

Hermione stared at the floor, and two silent tears dripped from her eyes. She looked up at him, eyes misty and whispered, "Thank you."

Other topics were much less deep, such as the discussion they had over their wands. Well, other than Harry's cocky wand bursting into flames in pride when he showed it off and having to be sharply reprimanded, much to the – at first quite frightened - amusement of the girls. They were then appropriately humbled when Harry explained what it was made of. Tracey's screech of shock still had his ears ringing.

Currently, Harry was once again engrossed in his text, while Tracey was taking a nap and Daphne was showing Hermione more magic. Said brilliant, bushy-haired brunette was gobbling spells up at a rather alarming pace. She certainly would go far.

But as peace tends to do, it came to an abrupt end with the opening of the door. Tracey jerked awake with a snort, and sneered harshly at the person at the entranceway, matched by Daphne. A surprised Hermione sat back, shocked at the looks on her new friend's faces, "So! Word around the train is that Harry Potter is in this compartment!" A rather oily voice rang out, belonging to a pale boy with hair so blonde it was almost white. Behind him stood two…well… mean gorillas would be an apt description. "So, it's you is it?"

Harry carelessly tossed a look over, and instantly was reminded rather strongly of a skinny version of Dudley Dursley. His knuckles popped slightly as he tightened his grip on his book, before relaxing. This boy had immediately rubbed him the wrong way. He looked back at the book, uncaring of what the boy clearly wanted, "I am." He tossed back.

"My name is Malfoy. Draco, Malfoy." Draco looked like he was expecting some recognition, and was rather displeased when Harry ignored him. He sneered at Harry due to his dismissal, not that Harry noticed. He turned and greeted Daphne and Tracey, "Davis. Greengrass."

"Malfoy." Tracey spat.

Hermione looked even more surprised at how acidic Tracey sounded. The newly named Malfoy turned to her with a more pronounced sneer, "I don't know you." He turned away, deeming her not worth his time. He turned to Harry, already saying, "You'll find that some wizards are much better than others-"

But Hermione had taken that as an invitation to introduce herself and, in her haste, cut him off before he could finish, "Ah, my name is Hermione Granger." She said with a shy smile, "Pleased to -"

"I did not say I cared to know!" He looked at her as if she was a bug, "You filthy little mudblood." Hermione instantly cringed back, incredibly hurt by his words despite the talk with her new friends who she knew didn't think she was worthless. Old habits die hard, after all.

Then, a sharp _crack_ rang out in the room, sounding much louder and sharper than a book being slammed shut should have. Harry spoke calmly, even if the dragon inside was raging, "You know Draco, transfiguration is such an interesting art." He said, confusing the entire cabin. Hermione – If anything – looked even more hurt at him seemingly disregarding Malfoy's hurtful words than she had when the boy had said them, "In our very first lesson, we are taught to change a match into a needle." He said, seemingly incapable of reading the mood in the room.

"A simple piece of wood turned into a sharp, pointy implement, forgetting it was ever made of wood in the first place." The book was floating in front of him, drawing everyone's attention. There was a very different glint in his eyes than the three girls had seen before. "And what is a book, if not a very. Large. _Match_." With the final word, the floating book _warped_ and elongated, its red color turning metallic silver. In an instant a pike replaced the book and dropped into his waiting hand. With one sharp movement, he rolled from his laying position into a sitting one and drove the point of the pike into the lacquered wooden floor of the cabin – causing the girls to each let out squeaks of fear - and used it to pull himself up to standing. That was when the other occupants of the cabin realized something very important.

Harry Potter was a _giant_ compared to others his age. He _towered_ over Draco and was roughly half a head taller than the two unnamed boys with the blonde. He left the pike behind as he strode forward, even as Malfoy dried to jump back but was stopped by the slower reactions of the two grunts. Harry got face to face with Malfoy and spoke calmly, with a dangerous intonation, "Now, dear _cousin_." The word sounded more like a curse than anything, "I would like to ask you a question. Have you ever met a muggle?"

"I – wha-!" Malfoy babbled.

"I'll take it as a no. What about a muggleborn? Have you ever truly spoken to one of them? Did a muggleborn harm you as a child? Did one make fun of you?" His voice was very mocking, and the girls were staring wide-eyed at this new side to their new friend.

Draco blustered, "Of course no-"

Harry cut him off before he could finish, "Then why do you hate them?" He asked, more softly, "Was it because daddy told you to?"

Draco snarled, "Now see here! When my father hears-"

"Your father doesn't mean anything to me." Harry interjected with a vicious smile, "In fact, I would rather love to have a word with him. I would love to hear about what terrible things _Voldemort_ –" Everybody save Hermione hissed, "– made your poor father do under the Imperius. He must have been rather weak willed."

Draco snarled and wanted to pull his wand, but decided discretion was the better part of valor, "Crabbe! Goyle! We're leaving."

"Oh cousin!" Harry called as they left, making Draco stiffen, "Take note, I have no need for useless hanger-on's or people who can't think for themselves." The boy stiffened, clenching his fists in rage, "Don't expect to ever have anyone respect you if you can't even tell them why you have the opinions you have. Gold will only get you so far." The boy was red with rage, and whirled around to speak, but Harry didn't let him get a word in edgewise, "Oh and Draco…" Harry said sweetly, "If I hear you or anyone say that word again, you will regret it." He said softly, and shut the door.

The cabin was silent as the girls reevaluated Harry Potter. Or Daphne and Hermione did.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Tracey yelled and glomped the boy. Harry flinched slightly, but realized that getting a hug from a pretty girl was a rather nice feeling.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, "Glad you enjoyed the show." He let go and waved his hand, repairing the floor and reverting the transfiguration with the same motion. He shrank and pocketed the book, and turned to Hermione. He cupped her chin gently, making her look at him. He gave her a small smile, which she returned, a mite more hesitantly. With that he retook his seat while Tracey took hers. Hermione was decidedly quieter and less animated.

Daphne was a bit calmer than her best friend, "I'm not sure you should have done that." She said gravely.

Harry smiled at her disarmingly, "Don't worry about it." He brushed off her concerns.

Tracey reluctantly threw her two Knuts in, "I'm kind of afraid that she's right. Malfoy's family is very rich and influential."

Harry chuckled, "Girls, this is one of those things that you'll learn about me if we become really close." He stated and stretched lazily, "I have nothing to fear from that idiot."

Daphne didn't like how cavalier he was being about it, "I'm serious Harry." She huffed, "The Potters were rich, but never on the level of the Malfoys." Harry started cackling, "I'm serious Harry!"

Harry tossed her a grin, "My dear, _you don't know the meaning of the word_." He snickered at her affronted look, "Trust me." He said, trying to get her to ease up, "This is one of the reasons I absolutely refuse to go into Slytherin." He said easily, "I've absolutely no patience for that faux political bullshit he was trying to pull. I'm far too… _blunt_."

She sighed, and shared a look with Tracey, "Don't say I didn't warn–"

The door burst open once more, revealing a very smug looking Draco and a much older boy resplendent in robes embroidered with green and silver trim. He had a silver badge pinned to his chest, "Alright, Malfoy here tells me one of you threatened him." He eyed Harry suspiciously, "Something about advanced transfigurations."

Harry didn't even blink, "Threatened him? My, that certainly sounds interesting. Blondie over here must have quite an imagination."

The older boy sneered, "Cut the shit, _boy,_ or you'll be in detention for a month before you even step foot in the castle." That word and intonation instantly set Harry off, "Show me your wand. Easy enough to discern the truth from that."

Harry had a smug look on his face, as he produced said stick, "I would suggest you not touch my wand. It's very… _possessive_." The boy rolled his eyes, and went to grab at the wand which was laying peacefully on Harry's hand. Once his hand got close, the wand immediately gushed small gout of white flame at him, causing him to jerk back with a hiss. "I believe I did warn you." Harry pointed out needlessly.

The boy snarled, jerked his own wand out of his pocket – amateur – and cast, "Priori Incantatem." In a clear voice. Harry's wand started spewing a myriad of spells, none of which were anything other than normal first year spells.

"You may want to work on your gullibility." Harry mocked the boy, "Honestly, an unsorted first year threatening someone with advanced transfiguration."

The older boy snarled at him, and then at a paler Draco, "You!" He spat, "Try to trick me again and detention will be the least of your worries." He stomped off, fuming at having been made a fool of. Draco glowered at them before following and slamming the door shut.

Harry looked quite pleased, and the girls were fighting to hold back snickers, "Well, you certainly make friends easily." Tracey teased. That set off Hermione as well. Normally she would have mentioned something about respecting authority figures, but she didn't really like the way the boy had barged in there.

Harry chuckled, "There are few things which will set me off. Calling me 'boy' the way he did is one of them."

Hermione stopped giggling and looked at him in concern, "That seems like a rather…odd trigger."

Harry debated with himself, before deciding he could allow something to slip, "It's the same thing my aunt and uncle used to call me. When they weren't calling me a freak that is." The girls gasped, and Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth in shock, "Be grateful Hermione. Not all muggles are out of the stone ages yet." He said with a note of finality. Hermione looked quite like she wanted to interrogate him, but he was saved by the intercom coming on.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS. WE WILL BE ARRIVING AT HOGSMEADE STATION IN TWO MINUTES. CHANGE INTO YOUR ROBES AND LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGE ON BOARD WHEN EXITING."

Harry grew very excited at that, and pointed his wand at his trunk. Instantly, an outer robe appeared over his day clothes. He wouldn't be caught dead in that stuffy, scratchy uniform if he didn't need to be. He turned and smiled at the impressed ladies, "Shall we?"

All three – in full uniform – stood and joined him, ready for their first look at the magnificent castle they'd been invited to.

-]|[-

 **And that's a wrap. Some final words:**

 **The Dragon's awakening scene was quite obviously a homage to The Hobbit. Not quite the book – or at least I don't remember him being buried in the gold - but certainly the movie. This dragon was also – unfortunately – a mite less violent. Patience. The fire will come. Also, remember that this is an AU. Alternate Universe. Magic itself will not necessarily be the same as in canon.**

 **The wand: I debated with myself for a long while on whether to keep his canon wand or not, but even if I wanted to keep it non-cliché I didn't feel I could. As I explained in the Snape and Dumbledore scene, Harry is no longer a Horcrux. I also explained my reason for that, and it won't come up again for a while. With that in mind, I didn't feel the original holly wand would fit, especially since this Harry certainly is NOT canon Harry. With that, I decided to go whole hog on it. I also – for the first time ever – decided to go into Pottermore to find some wandlore. The pieces were specifically chosen, and not just random basilisk fang and Dementor bone with Nundu penis for a core. That is also your hint that I will be either unaware or uncaring of anything that's come out of Pottermore. If it wasn't in the books or MAYBE the movies, it will very likely be disregarded.**

 **Cliché abusive Dursleys are cliché and abusive. I know, I know. Please don't hang me. That will be brought up again in the future, tying in with another issue.**

 **The absolutely obscene amount of gold Harry has: This was intended to be two things. One; it was necessary for the Hobbit homage. Two; it was intended as a 'fuck you' to all of the fics where Harry is Lord Potter-Black-Slytherin-Gryffindor-Merlin-etc. where he has TRILLIONS of Galleons as if that random number you typed in by facerolling your num-pad actually means something. And the best part?**

 **None of that gold is actually in circulation so it is worthless without re-melting all of it and selling it incredibly slowly – to avoid a gold price crash – to muggles for cash to change into Galleons at Gringotts. Otherwise there would be an instant goblin war aimed solely at killing him. Imagine that.**

 **The length of this opening: holy shit on a stick, this has been the longest piece of fiction I've ever written. While I freely admit that I like longer chapters in my fanfiction, this one was kind of fucking ridiculous. I had a lot to get through, characters needed establishing, and I'm fucking tired of ten-point-five-six-chapter long visits through Diagon Alley where fuck-all happens. I won't promise 20k word chapters EVERY time, but I will say that you should probably expect at least 10k.**

 **The chapter is very much the same as it was in the original pilot version. I changed a few things around; removed some parts; edited for mistakes I originally didn't catch as well as for wordiness. All in all, I'm happy with it as a first chapter.**

 **Finished: 4/15/2015**

 **Updated for full release: 9/12/2015**

 **Total Word Count (Author's Notes Disregarded): 23598**


	2. It was at this moment Severus knew

**Hey everyone! This has been a long time coming eh? I apologize. I usually like to keep to the fandom I'm currently reading because that's where all my ideas go. That in combination with my many-month-long writing slump is what led to such a huge delay.**

 **I'm glad that most everyone liked the opening. I'll try to keep things short here:**

 **Now, originally the plan was to have Chamber of Secrets finished by chapter 5. Clearly, that isn't going to happen. Probably. As I've – hopefully – gotten better at writing, my chapter lengths have also gone up. It just feels** _ **strange**_ **when the chapter are so short now. I still maintain that not EVERY chapter will end up as monstrous as this. I had a set goal of ending this chapter at a certain point. It just took…** _ **slightly**_ **longer than I thought to hit that point.**

 **Some parts are taken directly from the Sorcerer's Stone. No reason to change** _ **everything**_ **, after all. There are things Harry's disappearance and transformation wouldn't have affected. Mostly, it will be some speech from minor characters like the ghosts or the sorting hat's song. You should recognize it fairly well, but if necessary I will come back and italicize and cite the parts. It won't happen often.**

 **Also, more clichés incoming. Frankly – at this point in HP's life cycle – what the hell hasn't been done once already? I at least tried to spin it in new ways.**

 **-]|[-**

 **READ PLEASE**

 **Now, one thing I feel is really important to address is how you all took in the characters. Some of you felt they were far too mature and a few others even felt that I was speaking through Harry at times (I'm looking at you, guest I couldn't respond to). And I'll admit, I guess I was a little guilty of that. However, I personally think you're off the mark in that interpretation. You're looking at Harry as a** _ **normal**_ **boy who went through personal tragedy and was very isolated throughout his formative years. That would be very true, except he's NOT a normal boy. Harry had a taste of power and he spent the next several years USING that power. He's been through** _ **multiple**_ **bloody battles with the Goblins at this point, and that's not even considering the fact that half of his very being is one of the most dangerous predators in the world. Is it any wonder he has unshakable confidence now, no matter the situation? He also wasn't in an information blackout throughout his years as a dragon. Maybe he had no wizarding news and information, but he did have muggle information. Sciences, literature, fantasy, etc.** **AND he has his parent's memories and the means to watch them** **. Looking at him as a normal eleven year old is a mistake. He ISN'T.**

 **Similarly, Hermione was on the opposite end of that spectrum. I tried to make her the most vulnerable, and the most hesitant. (And also the most starved for affection, though more on that later.) Except in this universes, she found friends and she found them early. Friends who she is learning she doesn't have to prove herself to, and friends who are** _ **very much**_ **opinionated and 'in the know,' I guess you could put it. She'll definitely have her bossy personality from Canon pop up every once in a while, but here she is amongst equals. Daphne and Tracey fell in between the two, due to their own upbringing. Even as …err… liberal? As their families are nowadays, they were still raised as purebloods.**

 **-]|[-**

 **So…Pairings! Always on the minds of readers…. For me to know and for you to find out. (:p) Though I'm certain most of you could probably make a guess at this point.**

 **Now, some people seem to still think Dumbledore will be doing his standard fanon manipulating thing. Please remember that fanon is not canon. Yes, Dumbledore did** _ **some**_ **manipulating in canon, but not anywhere near to the extent seen in many fanfics, and nowhere near as maliciously. And many of the reasons FOR those canon manipulations are not actually present. (Harry is not a Horcrux anymore, for example.) So please, don't put your manipulative!Dumbledore into this story. It's not happening.**

 **Now, I mentioned in Chapter One's notes that this is NOT the canon universe. Some of you seem to have taken that to mean that Harry is the only special snowflake of the story, and were even disappointed at Tracey and Daphne showing off their own powers. That it made him** _ **less**_ **special. Well, he** _ **isn't**_ **the only special snowflake. I already showed that off last chapter, and the idea should be pretty well slaughtered by the end of the first scene. If you think that he's going to be the only figure in the story getting upgrades, you're sadly mistaken. I like the idea of magic being** _ **grand**_ **, and in all honesty that rarely ended up being the case in canon. If you don't like the idea of rivals and even flat out enemies getting upgrades, then I'm probably not your writer.**

 **Why is Harry's dragon form special? Or at least** _ **seemingly**_ **special? You'll find out later. I did actually plan this out you know.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Now, I have some things to say:**

 **First: my chapter/story progresses can be found on my profile. If anything gets abandoned, it will be on there. I like to keep it up to date.**

 **Secondly: I would really appreciate it if you all don't leave guest reviews. I actually like engaging with my readers, and I usually try to reply. It gets irritating when I have something I want to say in response and I** _ **can't**_ **.**

 **Finally: Bugging me for updates is not going to get anything updated any faster. This is a** _ **hobby**_ **. One of many, in fact. Plus I'm in college and have a job. My chapters are long. They won't happen overnight. (Well, they do, but not** _ **one**_ **night.) And they especially won't happen if I'm irritated and don't feel like writing.**

 **This A/N ended up being** _ **way**_ **longer than I wanted. Bloody hell.**

 **On with the show.**

 **-]|[-**

 **CHAPTER II: IT WAS AT THIS MOMENT SEVERUS KNEW...HE FUCKED UP**

 **-]|[-**

"Now _that's_ a castle." Harry whistled in appreciation as he stepped off the train and into the early-September night chill. Indeed, the black spires reaching toward the heavens cut an imposing figure in the light of the moon. It was a fairly clear night, so the shining light of the half-moon was able to illuminate some parts of the castle.

"Yes…it is." Hermione was staring at the towering spires in awe, while Daphne and Tracey merely shared dual smirks. They likely would have been awed themselves, but living in pureblood splendor did diminish the effect it had on them.

Daphne however, lost her smirk as a sharp wind seemed to cut right through their robes. She shivered, "Blast, I wish we could just take the carriages tonight. I don't fancy falling into the lake in this cold." Tracey nodded her agreement, rubbing her arms to try to warm up.

"Fall in the lake?" Hermione looked vaguely horrified.

Tracey nodded, "Yeah, first years always sail across the lake into the castle. It allows the rest of the school to get there in advance to see the sorting. Usually at least one person falls in a year."

But anything that Hermione could have responded with was drowned out by a bellowing call of. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Even Harry had to stop and gawk for a moment at the absolutely massive size of the man. He was at least twice as tall as Professor Dumbledore – who was the tallest person he'd interacted with so far – and could probably hide five adults behind him. His hands were probably the size of trashcan lids and his boots were like baby dolphins! To top it off, he had beady black eyes and masses of wild, bushy black hair complete with a scraggly looking beard.

"Holy…" Hermione murmured, "Is he _real_?"

Even Daphne and Tracey looked vaguely unsettled, "You got that right. He's massive!" They lowered their voices, "Too massive. He might be part giant!" She whispered to her friends.

Hermione stopped and gained an odd look to her face, before blushing minutely. Thankfully for her, none of her new friends noticed. The woes of being studious and friendless.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid bellowed once more, before waving an arm as he turned and started marching down the slopes. Every step he took allowed Harry to feel a very minute tremor in the earth. He was the only one sensitive enough to feel it though, and it put his estimation of the man's weight – and quite probably _strength_ – up a notch.

They followed Hagrid down a fairly steep path, taking care not to trip and stumble like some of the other prospective students were doing. Honestly, you would think a path would be easy to maintain with magic.

Finally, they hit the lake. It was black and still as the night itself, "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid bellowed as he himself took the largest of the tiny, rickety floating tubs.

Daphne stopped Hermione as she made an attempt to step onto one of the boats, "I don't suppose you can make us a better boat, oh transfiguration wiz?" She smirked at Harry.

Harry snorted, "I know nothing of boats or sailing. I'd be more likely to make something that would capsize the second one of us stepped into it." He leered at her with a grin, "But if you want to get wet, I can always throw you in."

He snickered at her affronted look, "No thank you." She turned her nose up into the air haughtily and stepped in. Tracey and Hermione giggled and followed. Harry was the last to step in, and he noticed Hermione shivering a bit this time as he sat down with them.

He idly considered for a moment, before deciding to give them a hand. Very carefully, he unleashed some of his power. Immediately, the air around them warmed up enough that all three girls jumped. He eyed them smugly as they turned, "You're welcome."

Tracey smirked and latched on to his arm, "Warming charms? I think we'll keep you."

Harry chuckled, "Sure, let's go with that."

"'Eads down!" Hagrid yelled once more from the front of the boats. The ride had gone swimmingly, and no one had fallen in yet. He ducked his head as they passed under a curtain of ivy.

"I wonder if he realizes that none of us are actually tall enough to be touched by that." Harry snickered.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Seeing as he told us to lower our heads, I doubt it."

They passed somewhat quietly through a dark, underground tunnel – possibly under parts of the school itself – up until they hit a sort of underground harbor. They all dismounted from the rickety boats, quite glad to be away from the likely frigid waters of the night. There was no path here, merely sand and pebbles.

"Oi! You there! Is this yer toad?" Hagrid addressed one boy in particular.

"Trevor!" The boy in question was a brunette, and quite pudgy for a wizarding child. Harry hadn't seen many of them, but almost none could be described as fat. Several people snickered at the genuine bliss in the boy's tone as he held his hands out to collect his pet. He flushed a bit as he heard the snorts, but visibly tried not to let them affect him.

They all followed the giant man up a slope until he came upon a door. Hagrid raised his meaty fist and knocked quite loudly on the wooden frame. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he had knocked it off its hinges.

The door swung open immediately, and there stood the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid swept one of his hands in a flourish over them. It was a good thing he was so tall, otherwise some of them probably would have gotten slapped backwards. As it was, the front few felt a small breeze.

"Indeed. Thank you Hagrid. I shall take them from here." She opened the doors ajar and led the young children inside. It was a massive room that – if Harry remembered correctly – likely could have fit those bastard Dursley's entire house inside of it. Harry's sharp ears detected the rumbling and laughing of hundreds of voices already inside the school.

But Minerva led them to a smaller chamber, which they all had to squeeze into a bit tighter. "Welcome to Hogwarts!" She exclaimed, "The start-of-term feast will begin momentarily. But first, there is something you all must do." The young group looked shiftily around, doubt and indecision creeping into their hearts, "Before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses." She smiled tightly, "The sorting is an important ceremony because your houses will be rather like your…families while here at Hogwarts. You will take your classes together, sleep in the same dormitory, and have access to the same common rooms."

Minerva looked at them all evenly, getting a small wink from Harry. She held the urge to roll her eyes, "The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has produced many excellent witches and wizards over the centuries! You will triumph and fall with your house! Your successes will earn you points, while your rule-breaking shall lose them! At the end of the year, the house with the most points shall win the house cup." She smiled at them all, "I hope you all will become a credit to your houses."

"The sorting will take place momentarily in front of the rest of the school! I suggest you all smarten yourselves up while you wait. I shall return when we are ready for you." And with that she swept out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Immediately upon the door's closing, the noise level in the room rose. Students started doing everything from chatting to frantically asking others what sort of ceremony they were about to undergo. Hermione herself was almost hyperventilating as she mumbled spells and other bits of knowledge under her breath. He even heard someone mention something about wrestling a troll.

He pulled Hermione into a one-armed hug, drawing her attention away, "Relax Hermione. They wouldn't just throw us into a pit and expect us to sink or swim. Remember that the houses are based on our qualities and that there are plenty of other muggleborn here."

"R-right." Hermione squeaked.

"Now, take a deep breath and be confident." He said, "You'll be fine." He scuffed up her hair a tad with a lazy grin.

"How can you be so calm?" She asked hesitantly.

Harry grinned, "It's just how I am." Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by screaming. He whirled around, eyes flashing. Then he stopped and rolled his eyes, forcing his blood to calm. It was just the school ghosts floating in. They were pearly white and transparent, almost as if they were mere smoke and vapor given form.

They were ignoring the students entirely, content with discussing something amongst themselves. One that looked like a fat, tiny monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

Another ghost – one seemingly from medieval times from his form of dress – picked up before the monk could finish, "My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say! Who might you all be?" He finally noticed the first years.

"Excellent! Fresh students!" The monk – apparently named Friar – grinned down at them, "About to be sorted then? I hope to see you in Hufflepuff!"

"Well, nobody will be getting sorted at all if you don't get into the Hall to watch." A stern voice spoke up. Minerva had returned, "Move along. We're ready." The ghosts happily went through the walls and into the Great Hall. Minerva looked down at her new charges, "Form a line and follow me into the Great Hall. There, you will be sorted."

They were silent as they followed the woman into what was truly a Great hall. It was absolutely massive! There were four extremely long tables lined up in the middle of the hall with a smaller, but still quite large table up at the front on a raised platform. The ceiling didn't appear to be a ceiling at all, but rather a complex illusion showing off the night sky! Hermione excitedly whispered about what she had learned about it to her new friends, momentarily distracted from her nervousness. Hundreds of candles floated in the air. They were led up the middle of the middle two tables, up to a stool with a…grimy, patchwork hat?

Harry and his group, who were at the front of the line, looked rather bewildered. They all looked at each other with raised eyebrows, before a voice snapped their attention to the front. The hat jolted and a mouth ripped itself open. Harry's right eye twitched as the bloody hat began to _sing_.

" _Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folk use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

With that, the entire hall burst into applause, as Harry stood there with a twitchy eyebrow. A hat? A singing hat? They were going to be sorted by a singing hat? One that could see their every thought? He heard some kid saying, "So we've just got to try on the hat! I'll kill Fred! He was going on about wrestling a troll." He snorted at that, while the girls had amused smiles on their faces.

He didn't even have a chance to snark to the girls before Minerva unfurled the roll of parchment she had been carrying and called out, "When I call out your name, come and sit on the stool. I shall put the Hat on your head and you shall be sorted! Abbott, Hannah!" A pink-faced, blonde, pigtailed girl practically skipped over to the stool. The hat fell onto her head and practically swallowed it, falling over her eyes.

Harry whispered, "I hope it's clean, at least." Hermione and Daphne both shuddered, though Tracey snickered.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat called out grandly. Hannah beamed and ran off to the Hufflepuff table, which was the table farthest to the right. The Friar welcomed her grandly.

"Bones, Susan!" Minerva called right after, and immediately the redhead went to Hufflepuff with Hannah. She sat right next to the girl and received a tight hug. They must have been close friends.

"Boot, Terry!" And on the sorting went, with Terry going to Ravenclaw to the cheer of the house. Every name that got called up, had a house cheer for their new member – the Gryffindors the loudest, of course.

The first of their group to be called up was, "Davis, Tracey!"

The redhead smirked confidently and strode forward a few steps, allowing the Hat to fall over her eyes. ' _You'll find I am quite clean, Miss Davis._ ' She heard the hat snark in her ear, ' _But it is good to see the true ideals of Salazar Slytherin still hold in some of you children. Mixing Magic and Technology will certainly be a daunting task, in no small part due to the Ministry. You shall be remembered for a long time should you succeed._ '

Tracey smirked, ' _As if I have any doubt._ '

She heard the hat's gravely laughter in her ear, ' _That is what I like to hear, Miss Davis. Do try to keep that enthusiasm._ ' She felt it shift on her head, "And with that, there can be no doubt that you are a SLYTHERIN!"

She swiped the hat off her head and held it to Professor McGonagall with a smile, before winking over at her friends. Off she went, to the professor's call of, "Fay Dunbar!" who became a Gryffindor.

Hermione was still a little fidgety. Harry chuckled, "Relax, Hermione. It's just a hat to try on."

Hermione shook her head, "It's not that." She said, "With the way that jerk Malfoy acted, I'm just afraid that we won't see Daphne and Tracey too often since they're going to Slytherin."

Daphne smiled, "Don't be. There isn't all that much they can do to stop us." She let off a giggle, "If nothing else, we can just pretend to be trying to get close to this big lug." She smirked at him, using her best friend's words.

"Glad to be of use." Harry rolled his eyes, "You're up next Hermione. I'll just follow you into whatever house you end up in." That got a brilliant smile from the girl in question.

Daphne giggle again as Hermione shot towards the seat at a clearly excited pace, "You really don't care where you end up, do you?"

Harry snorted, "Not a bit. As if what color trim I wear on my robes will make a lick of difference post-graduation."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Yelled that hat from where it was perched on Hermione's head, interrupting them.

"Well, looks like I know where I'm going." He said needlessly.

Daphne looked kind of surprised, "I had her pegged for Ravenclaw with how intelligent she is."

"Bullying." He said simply, and comprehension dawned, "I could be wrong of course. Don't know how the hat works, after all. Maybe she was meant to go there, bullying or not."

Before she could reply once more, she was called up herself. Much like Tracey, she didn't spend more than a few seconds under the hat, before going to join her friend in green. And so, Harry was left alone. Name after name of wide-eyed, fidgety children were called. Some looked incredibly happy at their houses, while others looks confused or even disappointed. Harry could feel the gazes of both the students and the staff on them. It felt rather irritating. Finally, his name was called, and the hall went dead silent.

For a moment.

Then, hissing whispers started ringing through the hall, "Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter?" Came from all around, with the teens and pre-teens gossiping like…well…teens and pre-teens. Harry ignored it all with a roll of his eyes as he walked forward. Now identified, he even heard a few whistles. He almost smiled when he caught a whisper of, "Holy! He's tall!"

He sat on the stool without a word after giving McGonagall a wink. She very slightly rolled her eyes as the hall quieted down. They waited with baited breath as the hat went over his head. Everything was silent for a moment, as they strained to hear even an inkling of the conversation the legendary Boy-Who-Lived was having with the Sorting Hat.

They needn't have bothered, "Pfffffff." The hat sounded like it was blowing a raspberry, trying to hold in laugher. Finally, it broke and opened its brim wide in gut-busting, hysterical laughter. The hall sat in dumbfounded shock as the hat broke from tradition and openly cackled. Just when someone was about to ask what was going on, the hat spoke, "Oh, these are going to be a _marvelous_ seven years! GRYFFINDOR."

Harry chuckled and bowed to Minerva as he headed to Hermione amidst the thunderous applause coming from the hall, or the Gryffindor table in particular. Harry grew irritated as everyone from the seventh years to the first years tried to shake his hand or just touch him in general. At first he offered people a smile here or there, but even that grew to be bothersome. A curt nod was all most of them got, and it made him seem a bit standoffish, or even snobbish. Quite a few of the students felt jilted, and Harry really could care less.

He sat next to Hermione with a real smile and decided to tease her, "Couldn't have picked a farther seat, huh?" She blushed as he inclined his head to the tall redhead sitting in front of them. A pair of redheads down the table were _still_ shouting, "WE GOT POTTER!" He grinned up at Dumbledore, who was sitting in a rather elegant throne at the front of the room. Albus chuckled and raised an eyebrow, before inclining his head towards Minerva, who had turned a little red. Harry laughed and held up three fingers, counting down quickly.

When he put down the last finger, Minerva exploded, "Fred and George Weasley! If you two don't want to set a record for quickest detention ever given, you will sit down and silence yourselves!" Harry grinned in victory and Albus merely raised his goblet slightly with a chuckle. Very few people caught the exchange, but a fair number of eyebrows raised all the same.

The rest of the sorting continued without a hitch, until a very green-looking redhead who looked like the now-named Fred and George along with the redhead in front of them – did their mother really like children that much? – was sorted into Gryffindor. His older brother was rather pompous in his congratulations. He very nearly tripped running to go sit with the two twins, causing a few snickers to erupt at his expense. With "Zabini, Blaise," going to Slytherin, the sorting finished and Minerva took the stool and the hat away.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students – his arms opened wide – as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Hermione turned to him, "Is he mad?" She sounded rather confused.

Harry laughed and responded before even the redhead with the badge pinned to his robes – Percy Weasley – could, "Oh he's quite mad. That seems to practically be a requirement to be a good wizard." He would have gone on to say that the man was also quite brilliant as well, but he didn't get the chance to. Mountains of food had appeared on the table, and the delectable smell of succulent meats very nearly sent him into a frenzy. For a brief moment – the second the smells had hit his nose – his green eyes slit before going back to normal. His right hand gripped the wooden bench they were sitting on so hard that his fingers dug right in, destroying the wood. Only the fact that Hermione was literally right next to him allowed her to hear the crack over the excited din of the other students. She jumped slightly and turned shocked eyes to first his hand and then to him, "Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly.

"Fine." He grinned. His teeth looked sharper than normal. "Just fine, Hermione." He removed his hand and repaired the bench with a thought and a wave of his hand, before his plate levitated in front of him and started zooming about the huge table and collecting food. Jaws dropped all around and the whispers started as soon as people realized _whose_ plate it was. Hermione merely smiled and started grabbing some food herself. Soon, Harry's plate had returned. It was completely loaded with rice, beans, eggs, bacon, and a few vegetables. Along with it, came the _entire platter_ of beef ribs along with the platter of coulotte.

Everyone in eyeshot raised eyebrows and watched with increasingly morbid fascination as Harry's stomach turned into a black hole. They had chuckled at the start – too amused by the insane amount of food the boy was apparently going to try to eat to be mad that he had taken literally the entire platter for himself. They would get most of it back, after all. Right?

That amusement turned to incredulity as not only did he put it away, but started looking around for more. "Bloody hell!" Ron Weasley said, "Even I don't eat that much!"

"And let me tell you-" One of the redheaded twins said so loudly that the entire table could hear, "-If Little Ronnie here is saying he couldn't eat that much, that's saying something." Said 'Ronnie' flushed bright red and tricked to duck down into his seat.

"Did you fast for the past couple of days, Harry?" Percy asked him with wide eyes.

Harry laughed, "Oh no, I had a big breakfast." Jaws dropped even harder, "Ate some on the train too." Hermione looked incredibly amused as she remembered, "Take this as a lesson. Don't try to keep me from my meat. You might lose a hand." His eyes flashed as he grinned – showing his teeth were back to normal.

Hermione giggled, "Can you pass the mashed potatoes Harry?" Said bowl was about three feet to Harry's left.

He turned to her and grinned, "Grab it yourself." She looked shocked – and a little hurt at that. Several people scowled at the interaction. She had a sad look as she made to stand, but his hand on her forearm forced her back down, "Not what I meant."

The light dawned in her eyes and she sputtered, "But!"

"No buts. You can do it." He grinned wolfishly. She stilled, before gaining a look of intense focus as she stared at the mashed potatoes. She began trembling minutely, before she slumped with a loud exhale.

Percy – who was the only older member nearby – cottoned on to what was going on. He scoffed, "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger here is just a first year and I believe she's also a muggleborn. Surely you can't expect her to-" But Harry had ignored the pompous boy, and the combination of Harry's reassuring squeeze and Percy's slight derision had galvanized Hermione. She concentrated again and the bowl wobbled. She gazed at it even more intensely at that and – before Percy's dumbfounded gaze – the bowl lifted. It wobbled, and practically tipped over in the air, but it lifted all the same. Slowly, it came to rest in front of her, and Harry caught it with his right hand. Hermione immediately sagged, looking as if she had run a marathon. Her brow was covered in sweat but she looked elated.

Harry's grin was contagious and she began smiling herself, "Potatoes, Ms. Granger?" She laughed and started piling more food onto her plate, suddenly looking ravenous. "Excellent! Eat up Hermione! As you've just discovered, you'll need a lot of fuel if you're going to be straining your magic!"

"My word!" Percy exclaimed, inserting himself into the conversation, "How did you do that?"

Harry smirked up at him, "I would suggest you not doubt Hermione here."

Minerva stopped behind them, "I would normally award points, but term has not yet begun. Excellent work, Mr. Potter. Ms. Granger." With that she swept away, and the finishing touches to the scene had every table trying to copy her success – with predictably varied levels of success.

Of course, over at the Slytherin table, Draco was loudly scoffing at her success, "So she lifted a bowl. Big deal. A mudblood is still a mudblood." The sneer was audible in his tone. Harry's sharp ears caught it and his eyes flashed in anger. But he wasn't the only one.

Tracey had a large smirk on her face, "Why Draco, why don't you show her how it's done then?"

The blonde snorted haughtily as she pushed a bowl to him, "As if I need to even try to do that." Tracey's finger glowed for a brief second before she hid it under the table, something some of the older Slytherins caught with light smirks. Draco negligently waved his hand at the bowl, expecting it to fly up.

It didn't. Several of his classmates snickered at his failure and flushed face. He growled and stared at the bowl, flicking his finger at it. It stubbornly stayed stuck to the table. He placed both hands on the table, increasingly red from the growing laughter of the Slytherins around him. Someone from a few seats down laughed loudly, "Well, talent has been known to skip a generation. A pity." He was one of the older students who knew full well what Tracey had done.

Draco's hands balled into fists and he yanked the bowl with his magic. Tracey's smirk widened as the glow on her finger disappeared. Draco, who had stupidly just been trying to move the bowl at this point and had unconsciously started pulling it towards him, ended up almost overturning the table as the squishy mashed potatoes crashed into his face, followed by the bowl. He went arse-over-teakettle and landed flat on his back. The table erupted, which pretty much ignited the hall into laughing.

Unfortunately, the high table had to do their jobs and moderate, "As much as I like a good laugh, doing so at the expense of others is not appropriate. I would hate to have to assign detentions before the term has even begun." Dumbledore said, causing the hall to quiet down. He even sounded stern under his quirked mustache, "Now if Mr. Malfoy is quite alright-" The blonde was back in his seat, looking like a steamed lobster. His designer robes had wet, off-color splotches on it. Daphne even wondered if he would start spitting fire, "Good, good. Please take more care in the future. We have an excellent nurse, but I'm sure she would prefer you not injure yourselves." He said, "Please enjoy the dessert."

The rest of the night continued with only a few incidents – such as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington – or Nearly-Headless Nick according to Ron Weasley – demonstrating _exactly_ how someone could be nearly headless. Several students did not have another bite, after that. Harry caught the eye of several of the professors. The one in the turban looked like he was afraid of his own shadow and kept wringing his hands together. The pale one in all black seemed to be emotionless, but the would-be-unnerving stare he kept sending Harry's way spoke much louder than a glare would have.

"Oi, Perry!" He called, causing the boy in question to flush.

"It is Percival, Harry." He sounded quite irritated.

"Right, Percy." If anything, that caused him to flush even redder, "Who is the teacher in all black?"

"All black? That would be the Potions Master, Severus Snape."

The fork in Harry's hand bent. "Severus Snape, you said?"

Harry had managed to hide the fork quickly enough, so only Hermione had seen it. Again, she gave him a wide-eyed look of shock. Percy though, just continued on, "Oh yes. He's quite the accomplished brewer. One of the best in Britain, I believe. Quirrel up there is right to look nervous though. Everyone knows it's the Dark Arts job that Snape wants." He looked around surreptitiously before leaning closer, "Isn't that great of a teacher though. Don't tell anyone I told you."

Harry still looked extremely tense, "Oh, I don't doubt that at all." He said darkly. He relaxed a little as he felt Hermione give his arm a little squeeze. As he looked at her worried gaze and the little dip her eyes did to his hand, he realized he was still clutching the mangled fork in his clenched fist. Before her eyes, it straightened out and he replaced it onto the table, and he gave her a smile of reassurance.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" She leaned closer to him and whispered loudly enough for him to be able to hear her, "And how did you bend that fork or break the bench?"

He chuckled, "You'll find I'm really, _really_ strong. But yes, I'm fine." He turned his gaze back to the staff table, where Snape was looking everywhere but at him. His eyes narrowed at the man, before beginning to listen in to the other conversations.

"I'm half-and-half." A redhead was saying, "Me dad's a muggle, mom's a witch. She didn't tell him until after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock that was." The others laughed at the little story.

"And you lot think that's funny then?" Harry said sharply, causing most of the other first years to jump. The redhead looked a little lost, "Be grateful your dad was apparently an understanding bloke. He could have broken it off with her quicker than she could have said 'divorce.' Or perhaps worse." The redhead was just trying to make himself look small under Harry's intense gaze. Harry sniffed and looked away, and a much more subdued group of first years started talking at a much lower volume.

The pudgy boy from before – a Neville Longbottom – was the next to tell his story, "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch." he claimed, "But the family thought I was all muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me. He pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once. I nearly drowned, but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased! Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

That almost set Harry off on another diatribe. He kept his snarl contained. This wizarding world wasn't any different at all, apparently. Only instead of hating him for having magic, an uncle was perfectly willing to torment and almost _kill_ an eight year old just to try to scare some magic out of him. It was one thing to hear about it second hand, but to hear it from the horse's mouth – and from a family that reportedly _hated_ Death Eaters and the Dark Arts with a burning passion at that – was an entirely other thing. It was as if his uncle thought he was better off dead than magicless.

What a joke.

Finally, the desserts – of which he had eaten none. All of that sugar seemed to make him feel a bit strange, and he was only smelling it. – cleared from the tables. Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat, "Well, now that we're all fed and watered, I would like to officially welcome you all for yet another year here at Hogwarts!" Clapping rang through the hall to punctuate his statement, "Now, a few notices for you all! Firstly, all First Years must know that the Forbidden Forest is not just a name. A few of our older students would also do well to remember that!"

A smattering of laughs rang through the hall. Dumbledore had been looking straight at Fred and George Weasley, who took a bow. "Now, for this year, an additional part of the castle is off-limits. The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Harry grinned widely at the _very_ pleading look Dumbledore shot directly at him.

"He really shouldn't have said that." Harry smirk was scaring Hermione, "Can't wait to explore it."

"Harry!" She hissed at him, "Did you not just hear him?"

"Hey, you chose Gryffindor." He teased, causing her to flush, "That means you have some sort of sense of adventure in there, and I'm going to make sure to drag it out." She pouted for the rest of the night. "Don't worry Hermione, I'll keep you safe." He reassured with a happy smile. His suddenly sharpish-looking teeth did not _really_ help.

Dumbledore finally caught the attention of the hall again, "And lastly, Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term. Anyone who is interested in trying out for their house team may speak to Madam Hooch." He clapped his hands, "And with that, we are almost ready for bed! But first, let us sing the school song!" He cried, and it became abundantly clear that the other teacher's smiles had become rather strained.

He flicked his wand, and a golden ribbon flew from the tip, winding about and twisting into snakelike letters and words. "Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!" The cacophonous, off-key cries of hundreds of students filled the hall.

 _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts!_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald_

 _Or young with scabby knees,_

 _Our heads could do with filling_

 _With some interesting stuff,_

 _For now they're bare and full of air,_

 _Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

 _So teach us things worth knowing,_

 _Bring back what we've forgot,_

 _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

 _And learn until our brains all rot!_

Harry – who most certainly had _not_ participated in the show – simply sat there with a twitchy eye. For someone with his hearing, that had almost been outright _painful_. When they _finally_ finished – everyone had a different tune, and the Weasley twins had purposely chosen a slow funeral march – Dumbledore wiped a tear from his eyes, "Such a wonderful magic, music is. Now, off to bed!"

Harry and Hermione – who was looking rather tired herself – followed along with the rest of the first years up the windings staircases and long halls of the castle. Harry kept a close eye on everything, making sure to memorize the way they were going. Peeves – the school's poltergeist – attempted to whack a few of them with walking sticks, but Percy's threat of getting the Bloody Baron had him fleeing. Soon enough, they were at a portrait of a fat lady in a silky pink dress. Percy declared, "Caput Draconis," and the lady bowed and her frame swung, opening to reveal a large, homey-looking area. It was wide, circular, and decked out in red and gold tapestries. There were also plenty of squashy armchairs. Hermione thought it looked a tad gaudy in some places.

Percy directed the students to two sets of staircases – one on each side of the room – and informed them that they were the staircases to the dormitories. The tired children – sans Harry, though even he could use a nap – filed up without taking much more in. Hermione shyly gave Harry a quick hug before disappearing up her stairs.

Harry followed the rest of the first-year boys up to their room, and immediately grabbed the bed closest to the window. He undressed and hit the hay, closing his eyes to rest. Roughly half an hour later, his slit eyes snapped open and he growled in irritation. Two of his roommates – Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom – were snoring loudly enough to wake him. He got up – heat wafting off him in anger. He _hated_ having his sleep interrupted – and cast a silencing spell around Neville's bed. He smiled in satisfaction as the sound disappeared. He repeated the same on Ron's bed, but his snores were actually so intense that Harry could still hear them lightly. He lay back in bed and threw one of the pillows over his head. The sound muted further, but then he realized he could feel a very tiny vibration on the bed frame.

As he settled in for a night full of wakeups, a small plume of smoke left his nose following a low growl.

 **-]|[-**

"Victory." The Slytherin prefect said loudly and clearly, so that all of the new first years would hear it. "That will be the password for the first fortnight here. Remember it, or stand out here waiting for someone to let you in." The blank wall melted away revealing a long corridor filled with low, green light. They all came through, revealing a rather grand – if cold – common room. The hardwood floors were dark – nearly black – and were covered in green carpets. Even the windows were green, though further inspection revealed that they were actually under the lake. When the room was quiet, they could even hear a calming sloshing sound from the waters outside. There were plenty of chandeliers around, since they did need plenty of light for it to be a true study/common room. The chairs were leather, in predictable colors.

The same prefect from the train – Lucian Bole – spoke up again, "Right you lot. Listen up. You have all been sorted into the Noble House of Slytherin, and you will comport yourselves in a fitting fashion! Remember that we are a unit in here, and the other houses will hate you! If you have disagreements with each other, resolve it in here! Out there, we are all one house! I am not saying you may not ally with students in other houses, but you must keep this warning in mind! Am I clear?"

The rest of the Slytherin first years all replied positively, but Daphne and Tracey weren't really paying attention. They had already made the decision to not keep solely to their house. Tracey even yawned since she was kind of tired. Bole didn't seem to notice, "Good. Now, if you look around the common room, you will see seven corridors. Each of these corridors is for a certain year. The farthest on the left is the first year corridor and the one on the right is the seventh year. You will find your rooms there. You may all have your own room, or group up in any manner you wish. The magic of the dormitories will take care of that. There are always as many rooms as is wanted. We don't really care what you do, so long as you do so _responsibly_. If someone doesn't want to room with you, respect that or there _will_ be issues."

Tracey fist pumped and hugged a smiling Daphne's arm eagerly, "Awesome!" She whispered, "I was really not looking forward to rooming with Parkinson."

Bole glared at her when he saw her whispering and raised his voice, "Do not interrupt me, Davis!" Her lips clicked shut, "Good. Now, each room will be Spartan. You will have a bed and a dresser, or one for each person using the room. You may decorate it as you wish. Each year, there will be less handed to you. Your bed will be less comfy, and your dresser will be tinier, and by the time you hit seventh year, you'll barely be given a tiny closet and it'll have no protections whatsoever. This is done to force you to study as well as to give you all some form of competition amongst yourselves! No one from another year is allowed to enter any other year's corridor unless there is an emergency, so don't bother asking anyone else for help!"

Daphne and Tracey smirked, while Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode looked rather worried.

"Finally, on the subject of protecting your rooms; learn to do so early! No one wants their room vandalized! And yes, this is a warning that breaking into another's room to _harm_ a fellow student in any way, shape, or form is strictly forbidden! Break that rule even once and you can and will be expelled! If you want to duel, we have a pit for that down _that_ hall. A challenge must be issued _and_ accepted. Now I would suggest you get to bed. Classes start early. Good night." And without another word, Bole turned on his heel and walked into the fifth corridor, leaving the first years alone amongst a small number of older students.

Daphne stretched and started walking to the first year dorm, "Well, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, Tracey."

"Hold on a moment!" Daphne held back a groan at the sound of Draco Malfoy's voice. The few upper years left in the common room looked in interest. Every year, someone tried to make a power play to take command of the year-group, and it was almost always an interesting show.

Holding a sigh of annoyance back, she turned back, "Yes, what is it Malfoy?"

Draco looked imperious, "Let's get something straight, Greengrass, Davis. You're Slytherins now, so I better not catch you two with those two idiot Gryffindors." He spat, glaring at Tracey.

Daphne laughed darkly. Her hair lifted up, seemingly electrified. Her purple eyes lit up and pulsed, as though a storm sat behind them. "You think to command me Malfoy?" Draco unconsciously stepped back at the intimidating sight of the Greengrass heiress, immediately losing ground in his bid for power amongst the first years. She snorted, "Malfoy, you want to know the only reason those two "idiot Gryffindors" as you called them – one of them being _the_ _Harry Potter_ – aren't here in Slytherin?"

Malfoy blustered, "Oh please, as if the Golden Boy over there would ever come down here." He sneered, regaining his courage momentarily.

Tracey laughed in his face, "Oh, perhaps you're forgetting how he almost made you wet your pants on the train." This gained a few snorts from around them, "Or maybe you're forgetting how he got you in trouble with Bole over there, when you tried to get _him_ in trouble." She grinned at his reddening face, "So let's get it straight Malfoy. The only reason Harry Potter isn't in Slytherin is because of displays like this and imbeciles like you."

Daphne's hand on her shoulder kept her from getting too much more insulting. Draco may be an idiot, but it was too early to start in on the personal insults, "You know full well what Harry Potter is capable of. He floated three separate items windlessly in the Great Hall and Granger – a _muggleborn_ – learned six spells in just an hour and a half on the train." Eyes went wide all over the common room. A few of the older students sent startled looks at each other. The Purebloods – and most Halfbloods – in the room may hate Mudbloods, but even they would admit that was impressive. "You can antagonize them if you wish. Tracey and I, on the other hand, will be sitting with the _actual_ talent tomorrow. Goodnight, Malfoy." She said with finality before turning and walking away, arm-in-arm with Tracey.

 **-]|[-**

"What are _they_ doing here?" Were Ron Weasley's first real words to the group around Harry and Hermione.

Daphne and Tracey paused in eating their breakfast to shoot the boy a look of disdain. "Eating." Tracey said flatly.

Ron's ears turned red, "I can see that." He said hotly, "I mean, ' _Why are you at the_ Gryffindor _table._ ' You should be over there!" He pointed a two tables over.

Tracey had a faux look of surprise on her face, "Oh, is this the Gryffindor Table? Wow, I had no idea! It was really impossible to tell, despite the scarlet on everyone's robes." Hermione briefly wondered if you could harness sarcasm as an energy source.

Ron's ears went even redder, "Yeah, so go back to your own table! We don't want any snakes here!"

"Actually, Weasley." Harry cut him off acidically, "Hermione and I invited them here, which is more than I can say for a certain someone interrupting our breakfast." The redhead's snoring was _still_ ringing in Harry's ears, and it was making him want to go up and punch him right in the jaw. Ron flushed a bright red, "So why don't you stop bothering my friends and go eat your food." Ron stomped away angrily.

Harry stabbed another slice of bacon or ten with his fork and went back to eating, but not before throwing a smile at Daphne and Tracey. Hermione giggled, "Well, we're certainly making friends amongst our housemates." She had not missed the stewing blonde over at the Slytherin table. Daphne's smirk widened and Tracey let out her own giggle.

"So, what kind of speech did the prefect give you lot?" Tracey asked, before eating a strawberry.

"Speech?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"Yes. You know, welcoming you to the house and the like." Daphne responded.

Harry snorted, "He didn't. He just pointed us to the dormitories and sent us to sleep."

The two Slytherins stared, before Tracey pouted, "Lucky. We hand to listen to that windbag from the train prattle on about how the rest of the school was against us before that."

Hermione scowled in disgust, "They even _push_ these dumb house rivalries on you from the very first night? No wonder nothing ever gets changed." She took a bite out of her buttered toast.

"Yeah, but it's easy enough to ignore. We're over here now, aren't we?" Tracey grinned brightly. "Still, after that we got to go to sleep. Our rooms are pretty cool! We can room in whatever way we like, and the rooms are entirely ours to decorate."

Harry cut her off, "What?!" She looked startled, "You can room in whatever way you like? As in, you can have your own room?" She nodded owlishly. He cursed, "Damn, maybe I should have gone to Slytherin."

"What do they do up in Gryffindor Land?" Daphne asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Hermione was the one who answered, "We're separated by gender and by year. We all room together. Harry is just angry that he didn't sleep much." She patted him on the shoulder.

"You didn't sleep? Why?" Daphne asked in concern.

"I have very good hearing." Harry deadpanned, "So good, in fact, that I could hear that thrice damned redheaded chainsaw's snoring _through a bloody silencing ward._ "

Tracey burst out laughing and Daphne started to giggle behind her hand, "Oh you poor thing." His affronted look made them laugh even harder.

"Good to see students so awake and lively so early." Minerva's rather severe tones came up from behind them. She smiled thinly, "Your schedules, Miss Granger, Mr. Potter." She turned to Daphne and Tracey, holding out their schedules as well, "For future references, Miss Davis and Miss Greengrass, we only allow you to sit with other tables _after_ the schedules have been passed out. I will overlook it this time, but please remember for next year. Your schedules."

Tracey and Daphne took them, looking sheepish, "Sorry, Professor."

Minerva waved them off, "It rarely comes up anyway nowadays, but it is in the rules. It just makes it easier to find all of the students to make sure they get their schedules. Other than that and the first and last feasts, you're allowed to sit wherever you like. I shall see you in class." She walked off to hand others their timetables.

"Hmmm." Harry smiled, "Looks like we all have Potions, Transfiguration, Defense, and Charms together."

"Very nice." Daphne smiled, "All of the core subjects. Looks like we have Herbology with the Ravenclaws though."

"We have it with the Hufflepuffs." Hermione murmured back, "Along with History."

"Is your stomach bottomless?" Tracey finally couldn't take it anymore and blurted out her question to Harry. He merely chuckled in response.

Daphne smirked, "Well, we don't want to be late. Shall we go to Transfiguration?"

"Let's!" Hermione said happily.

 **-]|[-**

Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom burst into the transfiguration room and almost doubled over, "Oh thank Merlin. She's not here yet!"

Harry grinned in anticipation. Minerva didn't disappoint. The cat that had been sitting stiffly on the desk leapt off and transformed into a woman mid leap, "I beg to differ, Mr. Weasley." The redhead squeaked, "Perhaps if I transfigure you into a watch, you'll be on time."

"We got lost." Seamus mumbled. Neville wasn't going to say anything of course. He looked petrified.

"Then perhaps a map. Take your seats." She turned without another look and leaned on her desk with her arms crossed. As soon as Neville and Ron were situated, she began. "Welcome to your first Transfiguration class." She gazed at them, her eyes lingering on Harry's group for a moment, "Transfiguration is one of the most difficult subjects you will come across throughout your lives, and it is incredibly dangerous in untrained hands!" She stared directly at the three students who were late, "Anyone who messes about in here shall not be coming back! Is that in any way unclear?"

"No professor!" The class dutifully answered back.

"Good." She nodded, stood again, and turned. Her wand barely moved, and all of a sudden her entire desk and everything on it turned into a giant hog. The class clapped as the pig looked around in dumbfounded shock and before it could panic and start moving, it was back to being a desk.

The entire class was incredibly impressed by now, except for Harry. Unfortunately, he knew they wouldn't be doing _that_ for a long, long time.

' _Well, not in class at any rate._ ' He smirked to himself as the rest of his classmates nearly fell over when Minerva told them to take out their quills and parchment to take notes. He followed along with only half attention. Minerva noticed, but they both knew this early information was essentially useless to him so she didn't call him on it.

Finally, they got to the practical portion of the lesson, where they were to try to turn matchsticks into needles. Harry rolled up his sleeve, since it was rather warm in the room. The motion drew the attention of the three girls he had befriended, "Harry, why are you wearing a medieval-looking gauntlet?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Hmm?" Harry looked over at them, "Oh this? I liked the look of it and had it turned into a wand holster. And it's a vambrace, not a gauntlet. Those cover the whole hand."

Daphne was giving it a queer look, "That…doesn't feel like a regular wand holster. Father wears one and it doesn't feel anything like that."

Harry grinned, "It isn't."

Before she could say anything, Minerva cut her off, "Fascinating conversation that I'm sure you're having; but I would like to see some _progress_ in your classwork." She sounded _really_ irritated with them, seeing as their matchsticks were untouched. All three of the girls nonchalantly waved their wands and formed perfect needles. "Excellent. Take five points for each of you. And you, Mr. Potter?" He just gave her a look that said, ' _Really?_ ' Her nostrils flared, "Any time now, Mr. Potter." He held back an eye roll but lifted a finger obediently, "With the wand, Mr. Potter." She smirked at his affronted face, "You chose it. Now use it." The girls giggled, knowing exactly what Harry's wand was made of.

Harry grumbled but flicked his wrist and his wand snapped into his hand. With a negligent wave, the matchstick turned into yet another perfect needle.

Beat

And then the entire desk burst into brilliant white flames. Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione squeaked in shock and almost overturned their bench in their scramble to get away. Minerva waved her own wand and put out the fire almost immediately. Even though her face had barely changed, Harry could just taste the amusement rolling off the woman. "What was that?" Tracey squawked.

"My wand's a smartass." Harry deadpanned.

"Language." Hermione and Minerva both scolded him simultaneously. Minerva stared at him, "Two points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. Do try to get that wand of yours under control." Several in the class started chortling at his apparent lack of control.

Harry scowled, and jabbed his wand forward. The slightly melted needle on the blackened bench formed into a matchstick once more, before warping again into a longer, sturdier needle. It was also clearly not made of tin, but of bronze. This time there was no fire.

Minerva gave them a thin smile, "Excellent work from the three of you. You may either practice turning the needle into different materials and sizes now that you've succeeded in turning it to tin – as Mr. Potter just displayed – or you may help your fellow classmates." The rest of the class was seeing mixed results. Some were able to change the shape but not the material. Others were succeeding in changing the material but not the shape. A few others had even managed a full change; one of them being Malfoy of all people. Perhaps he wasn't just a braggart. "In any case, as you've clearly demonstrated skill in performing the transfiguration, you have no homework. That is not an excuse to slack off. I expect all four of you to be able to show me three additional metals by next class. If you're going to chat, keep it quiet."

She turned to go check on the other students, but Harry stopped her, "Professor, may we speak after class?"

She turned back with a light smile, "Certainly. Just come by my desk when the bell rings."

By the time the bell rang, Daphne had completed five different metals, Tracey had managed four before getting bored, and Hermione had gotten in between the both of them in count. She was halfway to managing silver. Harry – by far the most advanced in the class – had gotten bored with metals and had started changing wood types as well as trying out bone. Not that the three ladies beside him expected any less after his display on the train. "Alright girls. I'll see you in charms."

"You don't want us to wait?" Tracey asked, "What are you going to ask that you think will take half an hour?"

He grinned, "Part of it is about sleeping. The other…well you'll see later."

"Well, if you're sure. See you soon Harry!" The three girls said their goodbyes and left with the rest of the class.

Minerva finally lost the rigid look when they were alone and smirked at him, "Still have that little fire problem?"

He rolled his eyes, "I swear, it's a larger ham than my other form."

She chuckled momentarily, "So, what do you need, Harry?"

"Well, I'd like to talk about two things. First, I talked with Daphne and Tracey and they told me that the Slytherins can room in whatever way they like. Is that something exclusive to the Slytherin house or is it available to the other houses too?"

She smiled lightly, "It certainly isn't against the rules. Generally though, the other houses prefer the current system, so it's rarely brought up." She chuckled lightly, "Actually, I'm fairly certain most of them don't even know it's a possibility. No one ever _reads_ the charter."

"Interesting. Why is it set up the way it is?" He was rather curious. He didn't remember much about the social aspects of life back when he was younger – not that he would have had much to go on even if he did remember – but one thing that stuck out was that they probably wouldn't have let boys room with girls in the 'normal' world.

"Well, as you well know, the school is over a thousand years old and we witches and wizards really don't like changing things. Something like changing the charter would not be at all easy to push through."

He snorted, "Is there an understatement competition I didn't know about?"

Minerva looked vaguely relaxed. She was probably thankful that there had been no disasters so far, "Quite. Now, back when the school was founded, people were much more outright vicious. Blood Feuds had not yet been outlawed. That only came hundreds of years later. Because of this, it was written in the school's charter that the students would be allowed to room on their own if they liked, as long as it fell under other school rules. Additionally, arranged marriages were _much_ more common in the past, which is why coed rooms were also allowed. Still, _that_ aspect of it is rarely brought up nowadays, wat with marriage contracts falling into relative disuse. Either way, Slytherin turned it into a competition, which is why that house continues to make use of the system to this day."

"I see. So a room for myself is possible then?" He looked really pleased at the way the conversation was going.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be." She looked a little curious though, "It really doesn't take much effort at all. We just have to take the rooms out of stasis and link them to the dormitories once more. The Founders designed the system to be incredibly easy to maintain. I am curious though as to _why_ you want a room to yourself. Especially after only one night. I thought you had agreed to get to know your peers?"

"I already made three friends." He said a little defensively, "Anyway, if I'm stuck with the other first years I'll likely end up eating Weasley." Harry chuckled.

"That is not amusing in the slightest." Indeed, her nostrils had flared, "Please do not joke like that."

Harry had not been joking, "He snores so loudly that – with my enhanced hearing – I could hear him through a silencing ward. Longbottom is barely better." Harry deadpanned, "I've been irritated all day as a result."

She blinked, "Well, he is a Prewett." She muttered in amusement, "Very well, a room will be set up for you by curfew. You will, of course, be maintaining it. I don't want to hear about it becoming a sty, understand?" He grinned and fist-pumped, "Now, you said you had two things to speak about?"

"Yeah, this is a pretty big castle but there doesn't seem to be enough students nor enough teachers to fill the entire thing." He started out, and Minerva nodded sadly.

"Indeed. So many lines ended in the past century. Grindlewald and Tom were not kind to the world."

He sighed, "Yeah, I know. But what I wanted to ask is if there were any abandoned classrooms I could steal for myself."

Minerva blinked, "Whatever for?"

He laughed lightly, "I spent years as a dragon, but I never said I spent _all_ my time as a dragon. Occasionally, I took human form and went to visit the nearby areas – especially after I mastered apparition." Her eyebrow twitched at the reminder, "One of the activities I discovered that I got hooked on was something called rock climbing and the related sport of bouldering." He grinned at her bewildered look, "It was quite fun and it allowed me to work energy out of my system. I probably would have gone spare otherwise, when the goblins weren't trying to take back my hoard."

"Bouldering?" She tasted the foreign word in her mouth.

"It's exactly what it says on the tin." Harry grinned, "Natural rock faces have little imperfections and you can create climbing routes by linking them together. Bouldering is similar, but they're artificially made. I'd like to take over a room to create my own little gym. Otherwise I'll have to fly over to the nearby mountains every day."

She looked incredibly dubious, "Well, if you say so." Progressive she may have been, but she was still a pureblood. The idea of something like this was incredibly foreign, "Very well. There are plenty of unused classrooms. If it is about this size, will that be enough?"

He shook his head, "No, it definitely will need the inside enlarged. I read about the spell to do it, but it's a fifth year one. I haven't tried to cast it yet."

"Good. Even for you, that'll be above your pay-grade, as it were. And you should never attempt it in a room you're in unless you've mastered it, for future reference." Her eyes flashed, "I will be very displeased if I hear you've used it before consulting with me. That is an incredibly dangerous spell. Is that clear?"

Harry shivered at the ice in her tone, "Crystal."

"Now, how big of a room were you thinking?" She asked, back to her relatively warmer self.

"It'll have to be pretty big. There are plenty of different paths and even challenge heights that you can create. Plus I imagine a few of the students might end up joining me! Maybe about the Great Hall?"

She stared at him, "The Great Hall." She repeated in deadpan. He nodded sheepishly. She ran a hand on her cheek, "Albus can handle it." She muttered in exasperation. Harry grinned in victory, "Please try not to make me _all_ gray by the time you leave here."

Harry laughed, "If my dad couldn't do it, what hope do I have?"

She rolled her eyes, "Dismissed, Mr. Potter. I'll see you in class in two days."

"Thank you professor!" And with that, Harry was out of the room.

Finally alone, she facepalmed and waved her wand. A silvery, glowing kitty flew out of her wand and out of the room. "Rock climbing. Honestly. That'll be Albus' headache, not mine."

 **-]|[-**

"Hey." He settled in between Daphne and Tracey, who had left a spot open on the bench for him.

"Hey!" The seemingly perpetually-cheerful Tracey answered back with a small, one-armed hug, "So, what did you want with McGonagall?"

Harry was just as cheerful in his response, "Well, I talked to her about getting my own room. Apparently no one knows it's possible because no one reads the charter." He chuckled as all three girls blinked owlishly at him.

Daphne smiled, "Well, at least we won't have to deal with you being a grump in the mornings anymore."

"Oi!" He yelled in affront, before pausing. He _had_ verbally bitten a couple people's heads off this morning. He winced, "Okay, maybe I was a _little_ grumpy."

"Only a little? Weasley looked like a steamed lobster." Tracey teased with a sly little grin.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms and looked away, getting giggles from the three girls. Unbidden a smile rose up and he shook his head in amusement.

"Settle down everyone!" Professor Flitwick called as he got over to his desk. He was a very tiny wizard with balding hair and a big, bushy white beard. He was actually so small that he had to float up behind his desk to stand on a stack of books just to see over the desk. When he took role, he fell off his stack at Harry's name.

Harry inwardly groaned. He really hoped that little scene wasn't indicative of the man's teaching ability.

It wasn't.

"Welcome to your first class of charms everyone!" He squeaked excitedly, "Now, we are going to start off classes with a very simple spell! It is called the Color-Changing charm." He drew a proportionally tiny wand and gave it a little flick. Instantly, the dark wood of his desk turned a blinding yellow, "As you can see, this spell is…exactly what it says on the tin. This spell is a very good one to teach first years, because it starts to teach you how to vary the amount of power you put into it. If you would like the color change to last just long enough to give people a laugh-" The blinding yellow vanished upon the last word leaving his mouth and the desk was back to normal, "-then you can do that. Of course, if you would like a slightly longer lasting effect…" He smiled and flicked his wand towards himself. His beard turned neon green and the class burst into laughter, "-then you merely need to put enough power in to do so. My beard will stay green until the bell rings. Not a second sooner, nor longer!" He clapped his hands and was practically bouncing, "Well, go on then! The incantation is _Muto Pigmentum_. You merely have to think about the color that you want!"

Harry grinned and turned a predatory gaze on the three girls, "Ah, Harry…why are you looking at us like that?" Hermione looked like she wanted to run away.

He laughed and flicked his fingers. Instantly, Tracey went from a redhead to sporting purple locks, Hermione took Tracey's place as a redhead – more maroon than anything, and Daphne's hair turned a brilliant silver. "Harry!" They screeched in shock before pulling at their locks, much to his amusement.

Tracey turned to Daphne and her jaw dropped, "Oh that's so not fair. Your hair looks amazing like that!"

"Really?" Daphne stopped and took out a hand mirror. She admired herself before smiling, "Hmm, I may just keep it for a while. What do you think Hermione?"

"Tracey's right." She was tugging her maroon hair angrily, "It looks amazing. Why can't my hair be that silky." She pouted in jealousy.

Tracey grinned at her, "It _is_ silky isn't it? We'll get you the potion Hermione. I don't use it myself because I _like_ my hair, but it should at least make yours wavy or curly if you want." Hermione looked at Tracey as if she declared she was Morgana herself. She said nothing, and merely wrapped the two girls in a nearly painful hug, and kept whispering 'thank you's' in their ears. "Ack. Hermione! Air!" She let go, blushing, but Tracey pulled the two of them closer, "Now, how will our revenge on Mr. Potter here look?" She whispered loudly enough to ensure Harry would hear.

Hermione giggled and whispered in their ears.

"I regret nothing." Harry stated imperiously with crossed arms. All of his exposed skin was neon green with yellow and pink polka dots. His hair was as saturated a red as you could possibly get. His robes were blue, and his tie was brown. The girls sat smugly as the rest of the class howled in laughter at Harry's makeover.

 **-]|[-**

The rest of the week passed in much the same vein, except the other classes were nowhere near as 'exciting' as the first two classes they'd had. Astronomy was done on a single day – Wednesday – and they had to stay up until midnight to even start the class. It wasn't much for Harry – who only really got irritated if he was woken up – but most of the other students were practically falling asleep on their feet. That in combination with the fact that there didn't seem to be any discernable _benefit_ – so far at least – to learning the movements of the planets and the positions of the stars made it a much hated class.

Harry enjoyed it more than most of the other students. He had loved learning about space in classes, back before the _incident_. There was just something about nebulae and galaxies that just _excited_ him. The cherry on top was the fact that wizarding telescopes were _far_ superior to muggle ones of the same general size. No ground telescope of the same size built by muggles allowed you to _count Saturn's rings._ The girls shared the sentiment, though not to the same degree, other than Hermione. Amusingly enough, despite her fear of heights, she had been fascinated by space as a little girl and had wanted to be an astronaut.

History was a mixed bag amongst student opinions. On one hand, it was a complete and utter waste of time. The teacher was the _ghost_ of a teacher who had fallen asleep in front of a fire and had gone belly up as a result. His ghost had gone on to teach the next day, not even realizing he was dead up until he had tried to write on the board and realized he couldn't pick up any chalk. That had been centuries ago, and it clearly showed. He had a droning voice that put everyone to sleep, was clearly bigoted against goblins – though Harry didn't blame him for that – amongst other creatures, and was really, really far behind the times. As he couldn't pick up a book himself, he only knew major modern events. Things that were talked about _relentlessly,_ such as the previous war. So practically the entirety of the class was spent trashing goblins and their rebellions with a few footnotes about other major events. It was really a travesty that it was allowed to continue.

On the other hand, the block was basically free nap time. He was fairly sure Binns wouldn't notice if they were even in the room with the way he taught. He didn't even take roll.

Herbology was a flat out annoyance. Harry hated gardening regularly – the Dursley's had him plucking weeds for as long as he could remember – and they weren't even allowed to play with some of the bigger plants. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had the class once a week, but the bloody class took up _three_ bloody blocks a week. That was time that _should_ have been spent on spellcasting. Harry occasionally debated with himself on the merits of taking his dragon form and torching the greenhouses.

But where Herbology was tolerable – if barely – Defense Against the Dark Arts was utterly _infuriating_. It had been one of the classes that he had been most looking forward to, but it fell so utterly short of his expectations that he almost just up and left. Quirrel – the professor – jumped at every little squeak a chair made and was seemingly terrified of his own shadow. He had a very noticeable stutter and his entire classroom smelled like garlic – which was said to be to deter vampires. His turban – which he claimed to have gotten as a reward for getting rid of a zombie – reeked. This was on top of the class – even if you got past all the other shortcomings – being an utter joke. They focused almost exclusively on weaker magical creatures and what the effects of prank spells were. They were taught a few spells, but they were all basic and some of them amounted to pretty lights. Hardly what Harry expected and wanted out of the class, and the girls weren't really pleased either.

Potions was…interesting. Harry gotten the feeling from the Sorting that Snape hated him, and the feeling was very much mutual. He made sure to practically devour the first year text, since he was fairly sure that – if he was right about Snape – he would be getting singled out. Potions took place in the castle's dungeons on Fridays, fairly close to the Slytherin commons. That made it a fair bit colder down here than in the main castle, for whatever reason. They had magic so why this was an issue escaped him. Like Flitwick had in Charms, Snape started Potions off with roll call. And it was at that moment that Harry knew the gauntlet had been thrown.

"Ah yes… Mr. Potter. Our new…celebrity." Snape's voice was fairly soft, though it did nothing to disguise the coldness in his tone. Malfoy and his group snickered from where they sat nearby.

Harry's eyes flashed. Well, _he_ certainly wasn't going to keep his mouth shut, "Sorry professor, I don't do autographs." He said as snidely as he could. Beside him, Daphne's eyes narrowed along with Tracey's. That was a very…uncharacteristic tone that Harry was taking with the professor. Hermione merely turned her head to him in surprise.

He hid his smirk as Snape's beady eyes narrowed, "Two points for your cheek, Potter."

Harry shrugged, "If you say so, professor." Most of the class stared at the two with slightly unhinged jaws. Hermione's rather urgent squeeze went unanswered.

Snape's nostrils flared, but for the moment let it go. There were plenty of opportunities later. He finished taking roll and stood firmly in front of his desk, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," He began speaking, and despite being barely a whisper, they heard every word. He certainly had McGonagall's ability to grab and keep student's attentions, "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, or the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins; bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death…" Even Harry had to admit the man had a way with words when it came to his subject. The students hung to his every word and his delivery was excellent, "If, of course, you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually am forced to teach." And then he ruined what was previously a pretty good speech with an utterly childish insult to every student in the castle.

Harry smirked inwardly, ' _How petty._ _So, that's the kind of teacher he is huh?_ '

He crossed his arms and mentally counted down. He wasn't disappointed, "Potter! What would I get if I added a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione almost raised her hand, but Daphne's sharp poke made her reconsider. She looked at her currently-silver-haired friend – Daphne had liked it so much she kept asking Harry to do it every other morning – with a small glare. She just shook her head slightly.

"A bunch of useless powder." Harry snarked. Snape had triumph in his eyes before Harry continued, "However, seeing as that is the basic ingredient combination in most sleeping aid potions, I'll assume you meant in combination with other ingredients. Draught of Living Death perhaps? That one was mentioned near the end of the first year textbook."

Snape looked utterly furious, and Harry held his gaze calmly. "And where, Mr. Potter, would you go to look if I asked you to find me a bezoar."

This time, Harry just answered it. He imagined 'the ingredient cabinet' had been used before, "A goat's stomach would be the most likely place, though other animals can end up producing them too."

This one had been said perfectly politely, and yet it only seemed to make Snape angrier, "And what is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They are the same plant and also called aconite. I imagine the other students would like to get a chance to answer questions too, professor." Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

Snape visibly bit back a growl, "Correct on all points. Well? Why are none of you copying this down?" He snapped. This clearly wasn't the easily browbeaten Potter he had desired to torment. He had not only known the answers to every question Snape had prepared, but he was clearly unconcerned with points. Perhaps a night scrubbing cauldrons for some offense would be necessary instead.

He waved a hand and writing appeared instantly on the boards, "Today we will be brewing the Boil Cure. The directions are on the board. Do try to go a day without melting a cauldron." As they started brewing their potions, it became abundantly clear that not only did Snape hate Harry, but he also was a completely and utterly biased teacher that did not know the meaning of the word, 'impartial.' He swept about the dungeon like a giant bat, criticizing practically everyone except for Malfoy, who he repeatedly praised for his skill. The Gryffindors were terrified every time he came near them. Neville was trembling so badly that he looked like he would wet himself.

And it was directly because of this that Neville messed up a step. The potion in his cauldron turned an angry red and started to bubble out of control. It was rapidly heating up to the point that even the cauldron started to melt. An acrid cloud of green smoke filled the room. Then, it split open and ruined potion started guzzling out, spraying all over Neville who had toppled to the floor and was now moaning in pain. Angry red boils popped up all over his skin.

Snape was snarling, "Idiot boy!" He roared as he vanished the spilled potion with a single wave of his wand, "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville could only whimper as more boils started to pop up. Snape made no move to help him, "Take him to the hospital wing." He spat at Seamus – who had been Neville's partner – before rounding on Harry, "And you, Potter, why didn't you tell him to take the cauldron off the fire? Thought it would make you look good if he got it wrong? Five points."

Harry's eyes lit up with the inner fire and the room instantly began to heat up, "I don't have eyes on the back of my head. How was I supposed to know what he was doing?"

Snape's eyes glittered in triumph, "Talking back to a teacher? Tut, tut. Clearly the fame has gone to your head. I think a detention is in order. You'll report to my office Saturday night."

The room heated up even more, to almost unbearable levels, and unfortunately Harry's friends were the closest. Their mouths went dry before Tracey took the plunge and squeezed his hand. The heat vanished as Harry jumped slightly. His eyes narrowed at Snape, but he reigned in his anger. He didn't want to harm the three girls, "Alright." He said simply, a relaxed smile on his face. He had asked Fred and George what kinds of detentions the man liked to give, and he was going to have _fun_ with them. Snape's eyes narrowed this time, in suspicion. That was too easy.

Finally, the bell rang and the students were let out. They had just barely gone up the steps when Tracey and Hermione grabbed his arms and dragged him into an abandoned classroom. Daphne shut the door, "What was that?" She asked in agitation.

Harry looked amused, "You'll have to be more specific than that."

Her eyes narrowed, "Snape. That heat. It certainly _wasn't_ a spell. Accepting the detention without a fight. Take your pick."

Hermione popped up, "Why did Professor Snape single you out like that Harry?"

He chuckled, "Snape singled me out because he's a childish, irrational little toe rag who was infatuated with my mother and utterly despised my father. Since my father married my mother and they're both dead, he's decided his schoolyard grudge falls to me." His parent's memories had been oh so helpful. Lily had been _quite certain_ that Snape loved her, and it certainly explained his hatred.

The three girls looked like goldfish. Finally, Hermione squeaked, "Harry, you can't talk about professors like that!" Tracey and Daphne turned incredulous eyes on her.

Harry snorted, "I can call that bastard whatever I want." She looked very reproachful, "That man is no teacher." He snarled, and Hermione jumped, "He purposely singled out a student over a petty grudge on the boy's dead father. He insulted the entire class sans Malfoy no matter how good our potions looked. He didn't even give a basic safety lecture!" He was walking back and forth angrily, "Tell me Hermione, did you ever have a single year in a science class where they didn't hammer lab safety into your skull?" She looked down, and shook her head, "Not only did Snape not do that, he also didn't explain a thing about how any of the ingredients in our potion interacted! Hell, he didn't teach us a single thing! He put instructions on the board and spent the next two hours stalking about like a demented bat trying to frighten us into making a mistake! And when Neville _did_ make a mistake, he insulted him and sent him off to the hospital with another first year who _probably doesn't even know where the hospital wing is_."

Hermione looked like she was about to cry at his admonishing. He sighed and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her. She let out a little sob, grateful that he wasn't really mad at her. She didn't think she could stand it if her new friends decided to leave her alone. Tracey rubbed her back and Daphne had a hand on her shoulder in support. Harry decided to speak again, hopefully nipping the problem in the bud, "Blind obedience and reverence is not intelligent and it definitely doesn't suit you, Hermione. Respect is earned, not given. McGonagall, Flitwick, Headmaster Dumbledore…they've definitely earned it. Snape?"

He looked like he was arguing with himself for a moment, before he pulled back so he could see all of their faces, "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room unless I say otherwise, okay?"

Daphne's eyes narrowed, "You're not asking for a secrecy vow are you?"

He shook his head, "Your word is enough for this. I really don't care, but I imagine others I _actually_ respect might."

"Alright." Tracey said, pulling Hermione away and wrapping her in her own hug, from behind, "What is it?"

"I'm almost completely certain Snape was a Death Eater." Daphne and Tracey choked, "There was no confirmation, but the letters my parents left behind for me more than hinted at it, since my mother used to be his best friend."

"What's a Death Eater?" Hermione had not yet gotten around to the books detailing the war in specifics.

"You-know-who's followers." Tracey spat, and Hermione paled.

"How is someone like that allowed near children!" She yelped in shock.

"Voldemort." Harry said and all three girls jumped, "Tracey and Daphne I would expect it from, but you Hermione? You're a muggleborn! Say the damn name! It's utterly ridiculous to fear a _name_. It's not like saying it will make him pop out of the ceiling!"

The girls still looked dubious – indoctrination was fairly hard to break, after all – so Harry continued, "Anyway, the heat is part of a big secret." He winked at them, hopefully putting them off edge, "So that's for me to know and for you to find out eventually." He stuck his tongue out playfully at them, much to their affront, "And as for me just accepting the detention?" He smirked and started cackling faux-maniacally, "Oh, I'm going to _enjoy_ it."

Despite themselves, the girls could only giggle at his antics.

 **-]|[-**

Snape was hiding a dark smirk as Harry entered the dungeon, "Potter." Was all the greeting he would give the boy, who merely nodded in his direction, "Tonight, you'll be scrubbing out these cauldrons." He gestured towards the cauldrons he had sitting on the floor by his desk. He had made sure to make them as gunked up as possible. Most of the messes were quite easy to simply vanish, but scrubbing them would take more than a little effort. "You will, of course, not be using magic. Well? Get to it!" He finally let himself smirk in triumph at the boy.

"Alright." Harry said, an easygoing expression plastered on.

"I suggest you put some muscle into it. They're rather… _caked_ up. I suggest you start with _that_ one." He pointed out an extra-large sized silver cauldron. It was one of his very favorites, and he did actually need it for some brewing in the morning, so he wanted to make sure it would be clean. It was also the only one he had made sure to mess up with particularly aggressive mixtures, to make sure no accidental magic from the frustrated brat would help.

Harry almost laughed in glee, but he made sure to keep his face expressionless as he grabbed the rather expensive-looking cauldron and set it on its side on a desk. He grabbed the wet steel-wool Snape had provided and made a show of lightly (well, lightly for _him_ ) scrubbing at the filthy cauldron. It was almost as big as his torso and the inside of it was completely coated in black gunk. Even the relatively small amount of strength he used made small bits scrape off. ' _This would probably be hell for a_ normal _first year._ ' He realized, which was probably why Snape enjoyed it so much. He made of show of ramping up his efforts.

"Come now, Mr. Potter, you won't make any headway that way." Snape said silkily, looking up from where he had begun grading some fifth year work, "Put your back into it."

Harry smirked from behind the rim and closed his hand into a hard first, making sure the steel-wool was firmly in his grasp. With a grunt of exertion, he thrust his hand forward and punched straight through the shiny, silver cauldron. Its bottom exploded outward, warping into a jagged mockery of a cauldron bottom. Snape could only gape for a moment as the information trickled into his brain. He turned almost puce, before roaring, "POTTER!"

Harry removed his arm from the broken cauldron, plastering on a faux look of shock and remorse, "Oh, I'm so sorry professor. I didn't think cauldrons were so _flimsy._ "

Snape sprang up from his chair, practically spitting at the boy, "Headmaster's office! NOW! I'll see you _expelled_ for this!"

"Lead the way, _professor._ " It was clear from the brat's smirk that he had acted a hundred percent on purpose.

 **-]|[-**

"I WANT HIM EXPELLED!" Snape roared at the old man sitting behind a rather gorgeous-looking desk.

"Yes Severus, you've said that already." Albus sighed in irritation, "Now am I going to be getting a _reason_ for said expulsion?"

Severus snarled, "He is completely and utterly disrespectful! Not two minutes into class and he was telling me he wouldn't sign an autograph during roll call. As if _I_ would ever want such a useless thing!" Harry sat in a simple chair in front of the headmaster's desk, looking altogether too pleased with himself, "He talks back to his professors! He didn't help his classmate which caused one if the cauldrons to explode and sent a student to the hospital wing! Then, when I gave him detention, he completely ruined one of the cauldrons I had him scrubbing! He ripped a hole right through it!" He had _liked_ that cauldron! It was expensive!

Albus let out a long-suffering side, "Very well. Harry, may I hear your side of the story?"

"His _side_?" Snape's eyes bugged out in rage.

"Yes Severus, his side." Albus said sharply, his head snapping to the dark-haired man's pale features, "That is generally how these things are done. Harry?" He turned once more and prompted the dragon in human form.

"Well, my interactions with _professor_ Snape over here started at the Welcoming Feast, where he spent the night glaring at me from the top table. This continued into my first class with him on Friday, where he singled me out during roll call referencing my celebrity status and then again by asking me three questions in a row from all over the assigned text – all from farther chapters in the book – in a clear attempt to embarrass me." He smirked, "He visibly became angry when I answered them correctly, assigning no points. He then slapped a recipe on the board with no safety lecture of any sort and told us to brew. He continued stalking about the room-"

"Of all the petty, arrogant-" Snape started to snarl, but Harry stood – heat blazing from him like a furnace – and roared back,

"The only _petty_ one here is the _Death Eater_ taking out a schoolyard grudge on the son of a dead man!" Snape reared back as if slapped, paling to the color of curdled milk, "Oh yes, I know all about that little tattoo on your arm, _Snivellus_. My parent's letters and memories made sure of that! I can assure you my mother _hated_ you as much as you hated my father!" Snape was trembling like a leaf, looking as if he'd had a rug pulled out from under him.

"Harry!" Dumbledore snapped when his mind caught up to the surprising revelation.

Harry drew back, rearing his aura in once more, "I'm sorry professor. That was a bit too far." He said.

"That will be an actual detention and twenty points. Additionally, you'll have to wait another week for your request." Albus said in still seriousness. "No matter your opinion of him, he is still a teacher!"

Harry nodded, accepting his punishment without a word of protest, "As I was saying, Professor Snape then went around the room, insulting every potion there – no matter how well made – except for the one made by Draco Malfoy. He was especially vicious towards Gryffindors. Neville Longbottom was so terrified of him that he made a mistake on his potion and it blew up his cauldron! The potion got all over him and caused boils to pop up all over his skin. The professor didn't so much as apply a dulling charm for pain before sending him and another first year to the infirmary, without even checking to see if they knew _where_ the infirmary was. He then single me out once more, blaming me for Neville's mistake despite me sitting in front of him. There was no way I could have seen it happen without eyes on the back of my head, and when I told him that, he gave me detention."

Albus resisted the urge to rub his temple, "I see. What happened during your detention?"

"Professor Snape had me scrubbing cauldrons clean. The first cauldron he gave me to clean was an extra-large one made out of silver." He _almost_ smirked when Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. Though he didn't know why, clearly that fact was important,

"There isn't a single potion below NEWTS that uses a silver cauldron, and none which are brewed this early in the year." Albus said, turning a gimlet eye on Severus, who was actually staring at nothing.

"I did not know that," Harry said truthfully, "But it is more evidence of his grudge against me. That cauldron was so caked up that it could only have been messed up on purpose. As we saw in class, even the simple Boil Cure _will_ melt the cauldrons if you screw up badly enough. Either way, he told me to scrub it by hand and told me to – I quote – ' _Put some muscle into it._ '" Dumbledore bit back a groan at Harry's entirely too-innocent look, "I'm afraid it was a lot more flimsy than I thought it would be."

Albus sighed, "Very well. As you have already been punished, you may leave. Have a good night." _That_ got Snape to start up again, but before a word could leave his mouth Albus' gaze snapped to him, "Severus, you stay."

Harry had barely closed the door behind him before Mount Severus erupted, "WHAT! You're going to let him go after calling me a Death Eater right to my fa-"

"SEVERUS SNAPE!" Dumbledore literally thundered. The lights in the room dimmed and there was even a loud rumble. Snape squeaked in shock, having never seen Dumbledore take that tone with _him_ , "You are entirely at fault in this situation!" He stood and clapped his hands onto the table, "I have never heard of such a degree of sheer unprofessionalism in my entire career as headmaster!"

"But-"

"But nothing! I warnedyou Severus!" Albus said tiredly, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes, "I _warned_ you not to antagonize that boy! And what do you do? Your very first lesson, you have an altercation with him that leads you both to my office! Your first lesson! You didn't even _try_ to look past his father! He is not James, Severus!"

Snape scoffed, "He may not be James Potter, but he practically oozes the man's arrogance! He called me a Death Eater to my face!"

"You _were_ a Death Eater." Albus said flatly, "And when you gave that up you swore you would protect Lily's son!" Snape cringed at her name, "And instead, you spend your first meeting with him baiting him and trying to get him expelled!"

"I-" Snape started to say but Albus didn't let him get a word in edge-wise,

"Will be monitored on your point-taking and detention issuances for the entirety of the first term." Albus cut him off and the man choked, "I have gotten complaints about you before Severus, but have ignored them fairly often as what few students make it into your NEWT classes usually make very good brewers." Snape preened momentarily, almost against his will as he knew what came next would be nowhere near as flattering, "But I have never gotten a complaint such as _this_. Your first class should have been entirely on safety! I know for a fact that you were taught that way!" He took off his glasses and cleaned them, "You have gotten entirely too used to your status over your students, and I have been too busy and harried to notice. You will clean up your act or my next action shall be to put you on probation."

Snape's jaw was set and his teeth were nearly grinding, "Yes sir."

"See to it that this does not happen again. I do not want to see you in here again with Harry Potter. Is that clear?" Snape nodded stiffly, "Good. Your next class for every year shall be on basic safety and the next two shall be on common reactions between ingredients. You have apparently forgotten that not everyone has your ability with potions! It is no wonder so few students manage to make it to your NEWT classes! I had erroneously thought that there was just decreased interest in the subject. It's happened in the past after all. Not every generation is interested in the same things. Now that I _know_ you've been remiss on these details, I _better_ see a corresponding increase to your student's practical grades!" Snape was practically shivering under his intense glare, "You may go."

Snape angrily stalked out of the room and slammed the door shut with a bang. Albus sagged in his chair with a tired groan and relaxed, "I'm too old for this shit." A musical, beautiful trilling came from Fawkes, his phoenix. "What do you mean I'm not old enough to be saying that you blasted bird? Come off it." He grumbled, much to the immortal firebird's amusement.

 **-]|[-**

The excitement of the next week came in a couple forms. First, when Daphne got her Daily Prophet subscription that Monday, she almost spat out her morning milk. "Someone broke into Gringotts?!" She gasped incredulously.

Tracey sounded just as shocked, "What dead idiot tried that?"

"It doesn't say…" Daphne murmured, before her eyes bugged out, "They didn't catch him!" She gasped, "Someone actually broke in and didn't get caught! Here." She laid the paper for them all to read.

 **GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

 **Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 August, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied a few weeks earlier. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**

"I can't believe someone got in _and_ out. The Goblins have been especially vicious the past couple of years." Harry smirked behind his hands. Oh yes, they _had._

"Nothing was taken though." Harry pointed out, "Thief must have the crappiest luck, choosing an empty vault."

Tracey sniggered, "You're right. That's actually pretty funny." The excitement of that particular story over, they put it from their minds and did not think of it for a long time.

Classes went by without incident, up until Thursday. That day was to be their first flying lesson, and one of either two things was in the air; excitement or _terror_. There really was no in between. You had everything from Malfoy of all people talking about dodging muggle helicopters on his broom – how the devil did he even _know_ what a helicopter was, much less use both the word and the machine correctly – to Neville desperately hanging on to Hermione's own – very, _very_ nervous tips acquired from Quidditch Through the Ages – in an attempt to learn anything that would help him stay seated on his broom.

Turned out that the students fell into one of two categories; either afraid of heights or not, and Hermione definitely _was_. She kept annoying the rest of their group with her tips, up until Harry had pulled her aside, "Hermione, stop it."

She blinked owlishly, "But-"

"Hermione." He said in bemusement, "You're only making yourself _more_ terrified with all this worrying." She blushed, "Flying is not something you learn from a book. Shocking, I know." He said with dry amusement at her expression, "Stop thinking about it. It is okay to admit fear, and it is okay to not be the best at something. You're not going to get anywhere like this. You're just making it so that when we get to the actual lesson, you're going to be so wound up that you're going to _make_ yourself fall."

"But I-" She started, but he rolled his eyes and pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back with his hand,

"Honestly, surely you've heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy before. That's exactly what you're doing! Just relax and let it come naturally. You don't _have_ to fly perfectly your first time."

"How can you _not_ be terrified!" She squeaked almost hysterically, "It's just a flimsy piece of wood without any safety mechanism!"

He laughed at the thought. _Him,_ being afraid of flying, "Long story short, I've flown before. Besides, falling from great heights is utterly irrelevant to us. Don't you remember Neville's story from the Welcoming Feast? An eight year old fell out of an upper story window and he wasn't even injured! If we fall, either we'll cast a cushioning charm on ourselves or someone else will do it for us. There's a Quidditch move that involves playing chicken with the ground, and the most anyone ever gets out of it is a concussion or maybe a broken bone! The game itself involves whacking and getting whacked with bloody cannon balls! Wizards and Witches are not made of the same stuff as regular humans. We're inherently tougher, whether through magic or through biology. What would kill a regular human would probably only break a bone for us."

And _that_ was what finally made her relax a little, much to the relief of her three friends. Thursday dawned bright and clear, and nothing of note happened until the owls flooded the Great Hall with packages, "Oh! Gran sent me a remembrall!"

"What is it?" Harry asked Neville curiously.

"It's something for people who forget stuff easily." He explained, "Look, you hold it like this and if it turns scarlet – oh…" The formerly white gas inside the glass-like sphere had turned a blinding red, "You've forgotten something." Hermione couldn't really tell if he sounded resigned or depressed.

Harry snorted, "How useless. What's the point of the bloody thing if it doesn't tell you what you've forgotten? How often do you see people talking to someone who forgets what they were going to say? How often does _knowing_ you've forgotten something help you actually remember it?" He sounded rather abrasive, and Neville wilted even more.

"Harry!" Hermione admonished, much to Daphne and Tracey's hidden amusement, "It was still a gift!"

Harry shrugged. He didn't honestly care. He finished eating and led the rest of them over to the courtyard, where there were two rows of brooms spaced out on the grass. Madam Hooch – a grey, hawk-eyed lady – was waiting for them. Most of the other Slytherins were also already there. "Well? What are you waiting for? Everyone get to a broom! Come on, hurry up." Harry made sure to be in between Hermione and Neville, just in case. Daphne and Tracey were both to her left. "Now, I want you to stick your right hand over the broom and say 'up!'"

Harry rolled his eyes. What if they were left handed? Nonetheless, he complied, "Up." The broom instantly snapped into his palm. His was one of the few that did. Both Daphne and Tracey had been around them all of their lives, so theirs quickly followed his. Hermione's rose halfway before falling, and Neville's didn't move at all. Seamus's broom was apparently defective and beaned him right in the nose, sending him to the floor. Malfoy's flew up and smacked into his palm so hard that it almost injured him. He laughed, "Man, these brooms suck."

"They're school brooms. What do you expect?" Tracey laughed along with him.

"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence." Hermione quaked next to them as she finally managed to get it into her hand.

"Then just stay near the ground. You'll get more comfortable eventually." He grinned roguishly at her, "Just dig deep and pull that Gryffindor out of you."

"Right." She said, taking a big breath, "Gryffindor!"

Her friends could only laugh in amusement. Finally, the rest of the class was ready, and Hooch began going around correcting grips. Harry's group along with the rest of the Gryffindors were utterly delighted when she insulted Malfoy's grip and told him he'd been doing it wrong for years, "Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard! You'll keep the brooms steady and rise a few feet, before leaning forward and coming back down. On my whistle! Three, two-" But Neville had been as jumpy and frightened as Harry expected him to be and had kicked off early. He rose very fast, but not before Harry's hand shot off like lightning and grabbed the back of his robes. With a minor grunt, he hauled the boy back to the ground. "Nice work Potter!" She said approvingly, "Longbottom, you can stay on the ground for now if you wish. I'll work with you personally."

Neville looked utterly relieved as he dropped the broom like it was a slug and moved away from it.

"Now, go!" She blew her whistle, and gaped as Harry completely and utterly disregarded her instructions. The rest of the class – even Malfoy – were floating about five feet off the ground steadily. They gasped as Harry twisted the broom so hard that he went vertical, shooting off into the air as fast as the broom would go. And for a brief moment – as the air howled past his ears and his hair fluttered in the rushing wind – he thought he had found another connection with his father.

It wasn't to be. As he leveled out, he was frowning. There wasn't any exertion. His body barely moved really. There was no great speed the way he loved. The air didn't howl as his wings created a hurricane.

It was just a flying stick. There was no freedom. No enjoyment. And no matter how he pushed the rickety old broom, much to the awe of the students floating near the ground or Hooch's appraising eye, he couldn't get _any_ enjoyment out of it. He went back to the ground and dismounted, practically throwing the broom away, "That was so boring…" he declared, much to the utter shock of the entire class.

"B-BORING?" Hermione shrieked hysterically as she lunged for him, "I thought you were going to break your neck!"

"Yeah." He frowned, "It was just so…restrictive and dull."

"They are rather old brooms, Mr. Potter," Hooch began as she floated next to the hugging duo, "Newer models are much faster and maneuverable, I assure you."

"Indeed." A new voice popped up from behind them, "And if you put on a show like that on such a rickety broom, I can hardly wait to see you on a newer model. No doubt you would be the best seeker in a long time. You're a natural." Minerva was approaching with an almost manic grin on her face.

Harry frowned, "I think I'll pass." He said dryly, wiping the look off of Minerva's face, "Sorry professor, but I didn't enjoy that at all." He mumbled under his breath, but Hermione was close enough to hear him, "It just wasn't the same."

Minerva looked heartbroken, "If you're certain, Mr. Potter." She sighed in depression. She supposed that when one was a dragon, a broom _would_ feel lackluster. She had been looking forward to seeing the Quidditch trophy in her office, "Enjoy the rest of the period children. Rolanda." She nodded to Madam Hooch and left, her shoulders slightly slumped. Harry actually felt a little bad, but he wasn't about to force himself into flying a crappy broom because of it.

For the rest of the class, he just went around helping first his friends and then a few others with some tips. When they left and the girls were able to get him alone again, Hermione led the mini-interrogation in asking, "Harry, what did you mean by it ' _Not being the same_ ' in class earlier? Did you fly something other than a broom?"

He merely grinned, and Tracey deadpanned, "Let me guess, it's a secret." It was not a question.

Harry laughed, "Don't worry girls! You'll probably find out all about these secrets eventually. Most of them are tied to a single thing." He grinned in amusement at their irritation, "Tell you what. If you can guess what the secret is, I'll even confirm it for you." The brilliant girls in front of him lit up with evil smirks. They would have that secret figured out by the end of the night.

 **-]|[-**

They did not, in fact, have his secret figured out by the end of the night. Oliver Wood, on the other hand, definitely heard about the brilliant seeker-to-be who refused to get on a broom over a minor thing like 'not enjoying it.' "YOU WHAT?!" The thunderous cry of sheer incredulity rang out in the Great Hall during supper, "Why would you refuse to be a seeker!" He flapped his arms hysterically, "We _need_ a seeker!" He implored on his knees and hands clasped in front of the irritated Harry and the definitely-amused ladies.

"Because I didn't enjoy it. Now buzz off." He snapped and turned back to his heaping plate of meat. But Wood didn't move.

He just sat behind Harry and kept whispering, "Please." The girls beside him giggled.

"Wood." Harry said, faux-pleasantly, "If you do not leave, I will throw you to the other end of the table. And let me assure you, I _am_ strong enough for that."

"No need." Minerva's voice popped up behind them, making the group turn, "Wood, stop making a fool of yourself and go eat. Mr. Potter is getting rather irritated at you, and if I know him half as well as I think I do, he would agree to play and then sit on the pitch reading a book just to spite you." Wood looked entirely too horrified.

"Not a bad idea." Harry mused with an evil grin, "I was actually thinking of hiding his broom and pads on game day instead. Or filling them with itching powder."

"You monster!" Wood ran away screaming.

Minerva almost smiled, "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster asked me to tell you to show up to the third classroom on the fifth floor on Saturday. He should have your request finished by then."

Harry grinned madly, "Thank you professor! I've been going kind of spare waiting for it!" She nodded to him with a light smile and left.

"What request?" Tracey asked curiously. She had not seen very many things get Harry to grin like that.

Harry rubbed his hands together, "It's one of my hobbies. You'll see on Saturday." He sent them a smile, "You're welcome to join me of course, though I'm not sure if you would be interested." He very deliberately phrased it as a challenge, and got the narrowed eyes he wanted to see.

But before they could get another word in, their night took a turn for the worse, "So Potter…" Draco's whiny tone came up behind them. Harry rolled his eyes and turned to face his cousin, "You think you're so special, don't you." He spat.

"What exactly are you on about, cousin?" Harry asked, "And can you get on with it? I'd like to finish eating."

Draco sneered, "You must think you're so great, flying and then acting like a spoiled child and refusing a spot on your team. Like to make everyone else look bad, huh?" Harry stared dumbly at him. Was this real life? Was there a camera somewhere? _Draco Malfoy_ talking about being a spoiled child and making people look bad…?

"Is there something you would like to actually say, or are you done wasting our time?" He finally responded.

Draco had a triumphant look in his eyes, "I'll take you on any time, Potter. A wizard's duel, at midnight. Wands only. No contact. The trophy room is always empty."

Harry couldn't help it. He just laughed loudly, "I don't have time to waste with a coward like you. What was your plan cousin? Get me to agree and have a staff member show up to catch me out of bounds?" Draco's angry flush was a tell-tale sign, "It was. How uninspired. I thought you were supposed to be a Slytherin." He grinned darkly, "Though I supposed that would make sense, wouldn't it? A coward like you wouldn't have the balls to face me for real. If you want to get destroyed, we'll do it officially in the pits." Draco had paled, "So what's it going to be, cousin?"

Draco was trembling in silent rage. Harry waved him off as he turned away dismissively, "Come back when your balls drop, coward." The rest of the table stared at him owlishly. He blinked, "What?"

Fred and George looked awed, "I've never seen someone derail a Slytherin so quickly and easily." Fred said dreamily.

Harry snorted, "Draco isn't complicated. He thinks the world runs on money and that anything can be bought. That he's _untouchable._ " He smirked. The goblins had thought that too, "He's trying the play the game the way he was taught. The way all of them were taught." He turned a slight smile at Daphne and Tracey, who blushed, "They were taught a certain way. Certain rules. Certain expectations. And what's the best way to derail someone like him?" Other than becoming a fire breathing dragon and eating them, of course.

Daphne laughed suddenly, finally figuring out what he had meant on the train, "You flip the board."

"Pull the rug." Tracey cottoned on fast as well, smirking at him. His grin was all the encouragement the girls needed to burst out into giggles.

George finally burst out, "How in the seven hells does someone so young know how to do stuff like that?"

He shrugged, "It's not that hard. Bullies aren't complicated." He said. What went unsaid was that they all _burn_ the same. He threw his arms over his head, making out like he was stretching. In reality, he was both stretching and casting a silencing ward around him and the girls, "So, when are we going to go explore the 3rd floor corridor?"

Hermione choked on her peas, "What?" She asked hoarsely, "Harry, it's forbidden!"

Harry snickered, "Hey, you chose Gryffindor! That means I am duty-bound to bring you on adventures. It's for your own good."

Tracey laughed, "Oh, I'm so game!" She rubbed her hands together, studiously ignoring Hermione's betrayed gaze.

"Daphne!" She turned to the currently-black-haired girl, "Help me talk some sense into them!"

The girl smirked, "Sorry Hermione. You heard the big man. It's for your own good."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. She crossed her arms and pouted cutely, "I am lodging a formal protest. I don't want to get expelled!"

Tracey cackled, "Notice how she's more worried about that then the whole death thing." Hermione flushed beet red.

 **-]|[-**

"We're going to be expelled!" Hermione moaned piteously, "Why did I let you talk me into this?"

"Because you secretly love it." Harry chortled from his leading point, much to her indignation.

"I most certainly do not!" She whispered, before jumping at a shadow.

"Yes, you do." Daphne smirked, "Why else wouldn't you have just locked yourself in your new room?" It turned out that either Lavender Brown snored as loudly as Ron Weasley did, or Hermione's silencing spells weren't that good. Or at least that was her excuse for the room she had right beside Harry.

Tracey giggled and wrapped her arm around Hermione's waist, "Face it Hermione, you're secretly as much of a bad girl as I am!" Hermione was so red they started to worry if the blood was going anywhere else.

"Shhh." Harry said, "We're here!" They were standing in front of a rather large door. Quite obviously, it was locked.

"Oh, what a shame! Time to go back!" Hermione tried to back up, but both of the laughing girls who were hugging her prevented it. They all turned puppy-dog eyes on her, "Oh fine." She pouted and took out her wand. " _Alohamora_!" The door opened after the lock clicked and they walked in. The room was pretty dark, but Harry's ears immediately caught on to growling. He immediately put himself in front of the girls and made sure they were as close-together as they could be behind him. "Oww! Harry!" She whispered as they almost banged together.

"Quiet." The girls couldn't see in the pitch black darkness of the room, but Harry's draconic eyes certainly didn't have that problem. They peaked around his shoulder, just in time for three giant sets of eyes to start shining out in front of them. Moments later, light shone in the room.

Harry almost grinned. It was a little bigger than the average dragon, and _much_ smaller than his own form. It had three canine heads, drooling jaws filled with fangs, and angry icy-blue eyes. All three girls squeaked in fear and started tugging on his robes urgently. He didn't budge.

Well, he did, just not in the direction they wanted, "Wow, you're huge aren't you boy!" He walked forward, leaving the terrified trio of girls behind him clutching each other. "What are you doing locked in here?"

The dog barked angrily and lunged forward, its central head opening its jaws wide. Harry's eyes narrowed and he back stepped. The girls cried out his name shrilly in terror as the jaws clamped right where he had been standing moments before. He grunted and stepped forward, fist closed.

WHAM

The dog yelped in both shock and pain as Harry's fist landed square on its nose, jerking its head sideways from the impact. "Bad dog!" He roared, making sure to flash the Cerberus with his draconic aura.

Hermione couldn't help it. Her legs felt like jelly and she sank to the floor. Daphne and Tracey didn't take too long to follow, "He punched it!" It was if her voice was permanently stuck on 'squeak.'

"Bad dog!" Harry repeated, "We're friends, not food." The Cerberus whimpered and whined before Harry started to scratch gently at it, "See, friends. Good boy!" He grinned as the dog relaxed, its other heads lowering. A low growl escaped all three of its throats, "Who's a good boy!" He gushed.

Apparently not _all_ animals hated him. Just the tiny ones. The thought made him smirk. The Cerberus barked happily, its tongue out while it panted and its single tail was wagging.

"He just tamed a Cerberus." Tracey whispered in awe.

"No wonder he's not afraid of _Malfoy_." Daphne gaped in awe as Harry rolled the gigantic dog onto its back and jumped onto it so he could scratch his chest.

"He punched it so hard its head jerked back." Hermione whispered, still in shock. Her legs felt like they had ants crawling inside of them, but at least that was slightly better than no feeling at all.

"Now boy, my friends are going to come and pet you as well. You won't hurt them, understand?" Just for a moment, Harry allowed his draconic aura through. Just for a moment. The huge canine's eyes shrank to pinpricks at the suddenly threatening tone and it yipped in deference. It was intelligent enough to know _not_ to piss off the tiny human on top of it. He grinned, "Hey girls!" Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione jumped at being called, "Come on! He's a big softy!"

"I'm quite alright over here Harry!" Hermione trembled. Daphne nodded hurriedly in agreement.

Tracey though, was the most outwardly adventurous of them all. It was a miracle she had even been able to get sorted into Slytherin. Still trembling, she stood and wobbled over, much to the other two girl's shock. Slowly, she reached the huge dog watching her curiously, "You won't hurt me, right boy?" She screamed and jumped back when a massive head dipped closer. Her heart was hammering a tattoo onto her breast, but she continued approaching at the – she hoped – welcoming bark. She laughed, in sheer relief, as she began scratching its ear, "You're such a big boy, aren't you." Feeling returned to her legs as her heart rate started declining again, "You're just as much of a softy as Harry said, aren't you boy?"

Emboldened by Tracey's success, Daphne shakily made her way over, and did not flinch back when the dog's head lowered, "Oh, we should have brought him some food." She giggled. She was much less afraid now than she had been. Even if she could have turned herself into electricity to protect herself, she didn't quite fancy being bit in half. She had never been in enough danger to actually try reforming her body.

Tracey laughed gaily, "Oh, this is awesome!" Her rainbow wings burst from her back and she lifted off into the air, landing where Harry had been standing. She started scratching at his chest, and it made him growl lowly, "Come on Hermione!" She waved at the only straggler of the group.

"I'm quite okay over here!" She yelped back, making all three frown.

Harry jumped over to her and extended a hand, "Come on Hermione, this big lug won't hurt you. I promise!" She looked so tiny and scared, "Look, Tracey and Daphne are fine over there, and I walked away! He's a really good dog!" Finally, she reached a hand forward and he pulled her up. Only, her legs didn't quite want to cooperate, and she almost fell over again.

So Harry cut out the middle man and picked her up himself, in a bridal carry, "Harry!" She squeaked, red-faced. He brought her over to the dog and she hesitantly raised a hand, before starting to pet him. She sighed in relief when Harry did not, in fact, have to pull her back to prevent a lost arm like she expected. He put her back down, but made sure to keep steadying her, until she was confident enough to stand on her own. She started to giggle suddenly, "Just think, I ran away from a Chihuahua three months ago."

"What's a Chihuahua?" Daphne asked in puzzlement. That was not a word she had come across before. Dogs had never really caught on with the magical folk, for some reason.

"It's a slightly bigger rat." Harry deadpanned.

"Harry!" Hermione admonished with a chuckle, "It's a dog breed Daphne!"

"That thing is not a dog!" Harry shuddered. Dudley wanted a dog for himself after seeing that fat cow Marge's dogs, and Petunia had gotten him (read: herself) a Chihuahua. It had lasted all of a week before it ran away and never came back. Harry had been quite jealous of it for the longest time. "It can fit in a purse! That's not a dog! It's an accessory!" Daphne and Tracey started to chuckle, imagining a tiny Cerberus in a purse. He grinned suddenly, "Hey, come down girls!" Tracey looked puzzled, but complied. The three girls backed away as Harry found a piece or loose rubble on the ground.

His tongue out to the side of his mouth, he concentrated. The rubble became wooden, and then turned into…well…a massive stick. The Cerberus barked loudly, scrambling to its feet. It was leaning close to the ground with its behind up in the air. The girls grinned, "Fetch!" Harry yelled, his magic picking up the massive log and hurling it over the Cerberus' head. The dog was off like a shot, moving far faster than a creature of that size had any right to. It caught the trunk before it even hit the ground with two of its heads, practically doing a flip, and then trotted proudly back to the quartet. The girls clapped as the Cerberus sat and started wagging its tail with another loud bark.

"Any of you want a go?" Hermione grinned and raised a hand. Sweat almost literally started to pour from her brow as the log wobbled its way up, and then was flung far. Hermione almost dropped in exhaustion. Skilled she may have been, powerful she may have been, but used to exerting that power, she was _not_.

Daphne spoke suddenly, as she watched the Cerberus trot back, "So, is no one going to talk about the trapdoor?" With an exertion of her own, she tossed the trunk, wiping at her brow.

Tracey sniggered, "Wonder what it's guarding? I heard that Cerberi are incredibly powerful guards."

Harry chuckled, "Must be something big if they have one of these guys guarding it. We can talk about it later, I suppose."

Hermione yawned, "Yeah, we should probably go. It's almost eleven." Lifting the huge log had really knackered her out. They spent a few minutes more playing with the dog, before leaving.

Only Harry didn't go to bed immediately upon saying goodnight to Hermione at her door. Instead, he shrugged off his shirt, going bare-chested. He opened the window leading outside the tower and jumped up onto the ledge. He sighed in pleasure at the cool night air.

The Cerberus _had_ attacked him, even if he had quickly solved that problem. It didn't mean that his blood hadn't _sung._ He tipped forward, and fell headfirst right off the tower. His eyes began glowing the emerald green they were known for as his arms grew scales and transformed into wings.

He caught the winds, propelling himself back into the air with exhilaration. He picked up massive amounts of speed, far more than any broomstick allowed, and soon the castle was nothing more than a pinprick behind him. Harry let himself go, assuming his full form for the first time in a long time in many months. His howl of triumph shook the night.

 **-]|[-**

"Hey Albus!" Harry greeted happily with a smattering of 'Hello, sirs,' from the ladies. Hermione elbowed him in the side in shock at his address for the headmaster.

"Ah, good morning Harry. Ms. Granger, Ms. Greengrass, Ms. Davis." He smiled kindly at them, "This was quite a request you had. I confess myself to be very curious as to why you needed such a large room." He opened the door, showing them what was, in fact, a cavernous room about as big as the Great Hall.

Harry yelped in glee, a massive grin on his face, and raced into the room.

"Wow, I haven't seen him this excited before." Hermione said to the other two, as well as Albus, "He didn't even answer your question, headmaster. How rude." She frowned.

"Minerva – that is, Professor McGonagall – told me that this was a hobby for him. She did not deign to inform me about what exactly the hobby was." Albus was amused, "Quite the opposite in fact. She seemed like she wanted nothing to do with it."

"I hope it wasn't too much trouble setting up the room, Headmaster Dumbledore." Daphne said carefully. She wasn't really sure what to make of the man. She knew her parents as well as Tracey's parents didn't like him very much, but she had resolved to make her own opinions. Harry seemed to know him quite well.

"Oh heavens no." Albus waved a hand, "It is really a simple spell, once you have mastered it. _Learning_ it is the problem." He chuckled, "There was no difficulty at all. I just haven't had the time until this morning." He led the other three in, and they watched as Harry waved his wand around, transfiguring the walls. He kept some walls vertical, but others he warped, drawing them more towards the center of the room, and creating a slope. Some of them jutted out quite sharply, creating inclines. Some of them he forced into becoming corners. All in all, it was making the room seem much more three-dimensional.

"What is the world is he doing?" Hermione asked aloud.

"Haven't the foggiest." Albus answered absently.

"You'll see soon! By the way professor, can you teach me the cushioning charm? The room will need it on basically the entire floor." Harry called from the middle of the room.

Hermione gulped, "Cushioning Charms? I don't like the sound of that."

Albus spent the next several minutes teaching Harry – and the girls, who wouldn't pass up a chance to learn from one of the greatest minds of the past millennia even if they were paid to – how to first cast impact-based cushioning charms, and then how to anchor them to _very_ basic runic sequences. That way, they could easily just ensure they stayed charged with a quick injection of magic.

When they finished with that, Harry stood still, with his eyes closed for several minutes. He was building up a solid picture of what he wanted in his mind's eye. Finally, he opened his eyes and waved his wand, and the room erupted into color. Hundreds of rocks of all shapes, sizes, and colors started jutting out of the walls.

He clapped his hands in glee, "Finally finished!"

"Finished with _what_? What is this?" Tracey finally exploded.

"I would quite like to know myself." Albus had a small smile of bemusement on his face.

Harry grinned, and then ripped off the shirt he had been wearing, before transfiguring his pants into basketball shorts and his school shoes into a really tight pair of shoes that had rubber all over the soles, toes, heel, and sides. Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione all erupted into massive blushes. Harry wasn't quite ripped, but he was pretty damn muscular, especially for an eleven year old. He grinned at his blushing friends – one of which was even hiding her face behind her (wide open) fingers, "You didn't think I was naturally just really strong did you? No, _this_ is what I do to keep myself in shape." Well, he _was_ naturally strong, but this did help quite a bit into making that strength _show_. He clapped his hands, and where they had once been clean, they were now white with some form of powder.

He turned and walked over to one of the walls he had created. It started out with a steep slope facing inward, before leveling out. It then had a ceiling right above it, before sloping up and leveling out once more. Harry grabbed the single white rock. It was a pretty tiny, crappy hold, but he had dealt with worse back in his home. He put one foot on a lower, even tinier boulder, and then he was off the ground, one leg dangling. He climbed directly up to the next set of crappy holds, before anchoring himself. He swung right, then left, and then swung and leapt right with a roar of exertion. He caught the holds on the now vertical wall, feet dangling, before securing himself back on the lower, inclined wall.

His audience watched in awe, "Oh my word." Daphne whimpered.

"Look at those muscles." Tracey was even drooling a bit. Hermione only watched with wide eyes.

"Fascinating." Albus was rubbing his chin, "Harry, are you using any magic at all?"

"Nope! All muscle and balance!" He called from the wall. He was now entirely on the vertical portion of the wall, but the next hold of the same color as the ones he had been using was almost six feet higher up. Harry tested himself, making sure he was well anchored, before doing a series of little hops. He wanted to make sure his footing was sure. Finally, with a grunt, he practically threw himself up the wall, gripping the much higher holds with a growl of pain. He hung from one hand, roaring in exertion, before pulling himself up with one arm and gripping the other hand hold.

His audience gasped appropriately. Hermione was moaning in sheer terror, "This is crazy! Oh, and he's going to have us doing this with him. I know it!"

Tracey made her way to one of the purely vertical walls, examining the holds. "Huh, these big ones don't seem too bad."

"They aren't!" Harry called from much higher, "They become difficult when they're large, smooth and give you no actual grip. You need to use the whole hand and squeeze basically." He was hanging from the ceiling portion of his problem, switching arms periodically to relax. "Then there are the really tiny ones. _Those_ are much bigger challenges." He continued climbing, reaching the top, and then yelling, "Time to test the cushions!" He dropped from the wall like a stone, falling on his feet and bending his knees. He grinned, slightly sweaty from his exertions, "I missed this!" He said happily.

He eyed the three girls with a predatory smile, and Hermione started inwardly crying. With a click of his fingers, they were in tank-tops, muggle yoga pants, and wearing the climbing shoes they needed. They all jumped in shock, "Ahh! These shoes are so tight!"

"They're supposed to be. It helps you put your weight on your toes to help climb." Harry said, "If you girls want to get started, the yellow and the red ones are the easiest. Give it a go!" He said encouragingly. Then he stopped, "Oh, I suppose I should tell you the rules. A problem starts at the areas marked with tape. You need to be starting on them, either both hands on one stone or split between two, and your feet need to be on the wall. Then, you can only use the color of the problem you started with to climb."

"How come you do this?" Daphne asked curiously.

"For one, I love it. It's really fun and gets your adrenaline pumping. For another, you get in shape." He flexed, and grinned wider when her blush sprang up again.

"HOW THE HELL!" Tracey screamed from the wall. She had decided to try grabbing one of the tiny white holds. She marched over and started poking him in the chest, "How the bloody hell do you hold those small ones. There's no way!"

He grinned and walked over, "Like this." He placed his fingertips on the rock, cupping it with his palm, with his thumb over his pointer-finger.

Tracey's jaw dropped, "But…but…"

He laughed, "Don't worry about these yet Tracey. It takes a whole hell of a lot of practice and strength to be able to do these. We actually have a massive advantage, since potions and magic can heal tendon injuries easily." He stretched, "I suggest you girls go for a jog and do some stretching and warming up before you start climbing. Also, I have to teach you the chalk spell I used. You need chalk when climbing."

Daphne groaned, "You worded it as a challenge on purpose. You knew we wouldn't back out if you did."

Harry cackled. Then Albus' voice reminded them of the fifth person in the room. Albus Dumbledore, resplendent in his magenta robes with purple stars, called down from the wall, "You're quite right Harry! This _is_ fun!" _Everyone's_ eyes bugged out in shock as they eyed the old man up high on the rocks. He let go and gently floated back to the ground, impacting softly.

Harry sputtered, before starting to laugh, "I guess age _is_ just a number, huh sir?"

"Yes, you young whippersnapper, it is." The old man laughed, "Especially for us wizards and witches. We remain in shape long after we become visibly wrinkly." He rubbed his beard, inadvertently getting chalk on it, "My own OWL examiner – a certain Griselda Marchbanks – was already nearing my own age when she tested me, and she's _still_ testing now."

Tracey stared, before grabbing Hermione and Daphne and beginning to jog. Like hell she was going to allow them to be shown up by an old man and a far-too-smug brat. Said brat would only laugh when they later claimed they wished they didn't know him. It probably would have had a better delivery if they hadn't been leaning on him when they said it.

 **-]|[-**

It came almost as a shock to the quartet when they had walked into the Great Hall one morning and realized there were Halloween decorations everywhere. Time had really gone by quickly, and they were so busy they never realized it. With their bi-nightly trips to play with the Cerberus, and their classes, and the exercise they were all getting every day (wasn't magic _amazing_?) in Harry's bouldering gym, they truly hadn't noticed that it was already October.

Classes had been…slow. Hermione's intense success had initially made them think that they would be breezing through material in class and perhaps even moving on to more advanced material a little early. Really, _really_ not the case. Clear lines had been drawn in classes between the students. It was that _thing_ no one wanted to talk about, but it was the elephant in the room nonetheless.

There were wildly varying skill levels between the students. Many of the purebloods and Halfbloods quite simply picked up the magic quicker and – the Slytherins especially – took that as proof of their breeding. On the opposite end of the spectrum, most Muggleborns struggled harshly. They didn't _know_ magic like the other students did. They still had no real feel for it, and it was truly frustrating for everyone involved. But that wasn't always the case. First, there was Hermione herself, and there were a few others who had much lesser successes, but successes all the same. Then there was the opposite end of the spectrum.

Ron Weasley – for example – also struggled in classes. They learned that his mother – an overbearing woman if the Twins had anything to say about it – had not let him use his wand _once_ despite the fact that his birthday was March the first. He had six months of time that he could have spent learning small spells in a safe environment twiddling his thumbs, because his mother was a stickler for the letter of the laws.

Hermione had almost _exploded_ when she learned that. She – who had been _so_ happy and eager to show off for her parents and earn some affection from them – wasn't allowed a wand until the late summer. She was told on her birthday – due to some accidental magic triggered by bullying on the day. Children were right nasty little buggers weren't they – and then had to wait almost a full year to start using actual magic. Learning that people who lived in magical homes could use it any time they wanted as long as it was under 'supervision' was a slap in the face. Learning that a boy's mother had purposely held him back just to follow the letter of the law was even more infuriating, and a part of Hermione's awe of adults died that day.

Neville was in a different, but same boat as Ron. He was so shy and unconfident that his spells just really wouldn't work for him. He was almost as jumpy as Quirrel, and _that_ was saying something.

So it was really no wonder that half of their year – the quartet specially – was bored almost to tears in classes, while the other half was crying for entirely different reasons. They were told that the more they practiced, the easier the practical portions of the classes would. Consequently that meant the pace would also ramp up tremendously in later years, when there wasn't such a gap between the students.

What this meant in practicality, was that they were only now – at _**Halloween**_ **–** learning how cast the _Levitation_ Spell in classes, which itself was only a more advanced version of the Hover charm. If they (a very broad they, since they by no means had a monopoly on skill) hadn't been allowed to read ahead and practice on their own in classes (after displaying skill with the spells, of course), they were quite sure they would have mutinied already.

" **Wingardium Leviosar!** " Ron Weasley bellowed, practically smacking the feather with his poor, beat-up wand. He clearly was at his wit's end at this point.

Hermione sighed in more than a little frustration. Try as she might, the boy just was not getting the spell, "It's Le-vi-o-sa, not Le-vi-o- _sar._ " She really should have been doing other things with her friends by now, but she just felt _bad_ for the boy.

"Well you do it then, if you're so bloody smart!" Ron snarled at her, almost spitting.

She stared at him dully, "Really?" She deadpanned. She sighed and shook her head, "You're own your own. I tried."

She got up to start walking away, but she heard him say, "Friendless, know-it-all bookworm. Bloody nightmare." Through ground teeth.

She closed her eyes and counted to three, "Friendless? Maybe you should look at yourself, _Weasley_. I have the best friends I could ask for." She turned and glared at him, "And yeah, I'm a know-it-all and proud of it!" She turned and walked away, not wanting to deal with him anymore.

She sat with her friends with a smile. Harry chuckled, "I don't suppose you want me to turn him into a toad?"

She snorted in response, "We both know you're not quite there yet."

Tracey laughed as Harry glowered, "Oh please, he's got so much toad in him Harry wouldn't even have much to do."

 **-]|[-**

The Great Hall was truly _magnificent_ for the Halloween feast. There were giant, floating pumpkins everywhere in the hall, carved to perfection with scary faces and lit up by flames of all different colors. Live bats swarmed around them like little black clouds, kept from coming within a few feet of the tables by redirecting wards. Everyone – well, almost everyone. Ron was still sulking from Charms – was having a marvelous time. Harry in particular was in heaven with all the meat he could help himself to.

And then the other shoe dropped. "TROLL!" The large doors slammed open as Quirrel ran in, screaming his head off. There was dead silence as they started processing the words, "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He practically slammed into the Professor's table. He gasped, panting, "Thought you ought to know…" No one noticed the complete lack of a stutter.

And then there were screams. Practically the entire school began to panic, screaming in helpless terror, "SILENCE!" Dumbledore thundered, standing to his feet, looking grim. "Thank you." He said as the entire hall quieted and looked to him for direction, "As the Slytherins have their dorms in the dungeons, and as we do not know if this troll has moved from its previous location, you all shall stay here." He said firmly, "All younger students are to get up and move closer to the head table. The older students shall keep a watchful eye on all of you." Several of the older students were looking a little green. Knowing the spells were one thing. A live-fire exercise was another.

He then addressed the ghosts, "As they are incapable of harming your ethereal bodies, all ghosts shall be responsible for trying to distract the beast while the older students attempt to overwhelm it with spells, should it somehow find its way here. A troll's hide is not impenetrable, and I assure you, our sixth and seventh years will be able to take one down. Please, do not _panic_."

Dumbledore sent Harry a very meaningful look, and Harry heard his voice inside his head, ' _This is not worth blowing your secret Harry. Please do not transform if it gets in._ ' Harry gave a small nod, not having intended to in the first place. By that time, Dumbledore and the other teachers had reached the entrance to the hall. "No one is allowed to leave the Hall. I shall be sealing these doors behind me. We shall be back as soon as we have ensured the school is clear of danger." The doors shut behind them and glowed blue momentarily, before a squelching sound rang through the hall.

"How could a troll get in?" Hermione asked with a frown, "Aren't they supposed to be really dim?"

"That's an understatement." Tracey said darkly.

Daphne agreed, "Our lowest failing grade is 'Troll.'" She hissed, "I really, _really_ doubt one could just bloody wander in."

They overheard Ron Weasley – through food of course – say, "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke?"

Nearly-headless Nick scoffed, "Peeves is a poltergeist, not the ghost of a serial killer. He knows full well that a prank like this would have him removed."

But whatever reply would have been forthcoming was cut off by a thunderous crash.

BANG!

Several students screamed as the sealed doors to the Hall got slammed by something _huge._ The doors bulged outward momentarily. Harry immediately made sure he was facing the door, ready for anything that came through it.

BANG!

Another thunderous crash rang out, along with a horrifying crack as the wood broke. The doors were very much deformed now, and half the hall had burst into terrified tears. The door was barely holding, and it was quite clear that one more solid hit would be enough.

 **CRASH**!

Broken bits of door and even parts of the stone they had been attached to flew across the room. Several students cast shielding spells, killing the momentum of the biggest pieces. Several of the smaller ones however, peppered the students. A massive beast had crashed through the door, landing on its front due to the wood giving way. That wasn't what terrified the students in the hall.

No, that honor went to the _four other trolls rushing in_ , nearly demonic-sounding howls splitting the air. They were huge, bulky, dark gray creatures drabbed in battered metal armor. Each and every one of them held massive tree trunks that they had beaten into clubs. These weren't mountain trolls.

They were _cave_ trolls.

One rushed for the Gryffindor table where Percy Weasley was sitting like a deer in headlights. It raised its club over its head, roaring all the while, before swinging it sideways. " _PROTEGO_!" Percy yelled out in sheer, bloody panic. A bright, almost solid projection of magic appeared in front of him right before the club hit him. A shockwave knocked several students back as several things happened. The shield shattered like glass, but had done its rushed, panicked work. The club was flung backward and almost wrenched the trolls arm out of its socket. The troll almost spun as it tried to keep a hold of the club, and therefore it skidded on the floor, roaring as the dull sensation of pain coursed through it for the first time in a very long time. The unlucky Weasley who had cast the shield didn't fare much better. There were shields that dimmed physical impacts, and _Protego_ was not one of them. Luckily, he had poured so much magic into it that it had negated most of the impact, but that was still enough to send him skidding ass over teakettle backwards onto the Gryffindor table. He was out cold before the second tumble.

One of the others had rushed for the Ravenclaw table, and it was _hungry._ It grabbed at a poor girl who had been too slow in reacting to the situation from the sheer horror. She flung herself backwards in an attempt to escape, but the troll caught on to her. She howled in horror as its hand closed around her and bulled her into the air. She kicked helplessly and screamed as it raised her to its mouth.

And then a set of feet hit the massive beast square in the jaw. Normally, it would have had a laughable result. A human do more than slightly tickle a troll with a physical attack? Laughable at best and brain dead at worst.

 _Most_ humans couldn't punch out a Cerberus. Harry had rushed forward the moment the trolls had broken in. He ran so fast he was almost a blur. He had jumped and let his momentum carry him, barreling straight into his enemy like a truck into a divider. He spring-boarded off of the trolls face and caught the girl as its grip loosened, its hand going straight to its aching jaw as it was knocked backwards, stumbling. "GET AWAY FROM THEM." He roared out at the rest of the slower students, forcing them to scramble back as he hit the floor and jumped back nearly ten feet with the unknown girl in his arms. He set her down as gently as he could in his rush, before springing forward to rush the troll once more.

The rest of the hall finally snapped into motion. The younger students – most forth years and below – had rushed behind the head table in terror. That got them out of the way. The ghosts rushed forward, engulfing the beasts and flying through them as distractions. Unfortunately, not every ghost was in the hall. There were only enough to be effective on three of the trolls. One simply fled the hall in a moment of brilliance, going out to search for the headmaster. The oldest students rapidly tossed the house tables up and out of the way, making an even larger barrier between the enemies and the younger kids.

And then the spells flew. Cutting spells; laceration curses (what few light ones the ministry allowed them to learn); gouging spells; piercing spells; anything and everything that had even a chance of hurting these monsters flew towards the beasts that _idiot_ Potter _wasn't_ rushing towards. They hardly wanted to kill the little moron themselves, after all.

Nothing worked. The armor the beasts were wearing protected their vital spots, so what few spells actually managed to penetrate their hides left only superficial damage. More of an annoyance than anything to them.

So more than a few of them faltered in utter disbelief as Harry's fists ignited in flames and he landed an absolutely _crushing_ blow to the troll. Its howl of agony was like music to their ears. As it crashed to the floor and rolled, the club went flying and smashed straight through one of the pumpkins. Howling in anger, Harry slammed his flaming fists in front of him, forming a massive pyre in his hands. He thrust them forward, and the concentrated blast of hellfire engulfed the downed beast. Its high-pitched screech of pain lasted for only a few seconds before dying out under the roar of the fire. Harry cut off the flames, revealing scorched – and even partially melted – rock that was glowing an angry red. The troll was a charred husk, sitting in droopy and almost liquid metal armor.

By that time, the rest of the school had gotten their wits and had managed to take out another of the cave trolls. One brilliant Hufflepuff seventh year with vivid purple hair had turned the stone floor into liquid under the beast, which the troll sank into immediately. It pitched forward, its flailing arms trying to push itself out, but they sank in too.

Trolls were not very intelligent.

She turned the liquid stone back into solid rock, leaving the beast trapped. Another student knocked off its helmet, and at least a dozen of them took aim and started slamming curse after curse into it. Even a troll's hide couldn't take that kind of onslaught. Several students were traumatized when a sickening squelch rang through the hall as its skull collapsed.

Two down, three to go. But they couldn't even take a breather to let out a cheer at the fact that they were winning. The troll that had knocked down the doors had finally managed to scramble to its feet after having been trampled by its fellows, _and it was right next to Harry_. Its howl of fury rang through the Hall and its actions almost sapped the defenders of their spirit. Harry had his back turned to it as its club screamed through the air, having just finished incinerating his first troll. He swung around, eyes wide as the club approached. He did the only thing he could. He raised his arms to block the hit, transforming his (hidden) skin, his bones, and his flesh into their much more powerful draconic counterparts. Harry was _immensely_ thankful for partial transformations, because even having strengthened himself, the impact hurt like a _bitch._

"NOOOO!" Tracey, Hermione, and Daphne screamed in abject horror from the back of the room as Harry flew halfway across the Hall, before crashing into the table barricade, throwing up would chips and splinters.

They never even saw if he moved again, because all three of them saw _red_. Tracey howled in fury as her rainbow wings burst from her back and she literally began to glow. She raced into the air like a vengeful Valkyrie, rainbow bursts appearing in her hands. With a screech of rage, the hurled the ball in her right hand straight at the beast who was howling in victory. With a sound almost like a twang mixed with shattering glass, the ball hit the troll's nose and exploded like a bomb. The shockwave turned exultation in agony and nearly blew the troll off its feet. The second hit the beast's chestplate and _dented_ it, this time finishing the job of the first in knocking it to the ground. It groaned hoarsely, struggling to draw air into its lungs and scrabbling to rip off its armor.

Daphne didn't let it. She had vaulted over the tables on Tracey's heels and had finally gotten close enough. Her fury was a palpable thing as a veritable storm of electricity made up her body. Her inarticulate scream of anguish was drowned out by the _screaming_ of the lightning that exploded from her. It raced towards the troll, attracted by the metal it was wearing. The troll thrashed in agony as Daphne pumped millions of volts into it. The metal started growing red hot as it sizzled against its hide, sending up an acrid smell into the room. The troll finally died when its heart literally exploded inside its chest. Daphne collapsed to her knees as the troll stopped thrashing, utterly spent. The beast was charred and smoking before her. She struggled to keep from collapsing in a dead faint in her exhaustion.

The third troll was dead, but that was where the good news ended. Her light show had attracted the attention of the fifth troll, which had thus far been entirely focused on the swarming house ghosts and had been out of play. The last was being beat back by the combined might of the rest of the students. The troll started ignoring the ghosts and lumbered straight towards Daphne, attracted by the shiny. "Daphne no!" Tracey screamed as the beast approached, flying down and grabbing the woozy girl in her arms. She tried to fly up and out of the troll's range, but the last dregs of her magic were gone. They both crashed to the floor as her wings winked out of existence, Daphne out cold. Tracey stared in terror at the approaching monster, its club raised high to squash them both. She closed her eyes and curled up, cradling her oldest friend with tears in her eyes.

"NOOO!" Hermione had been the slowest to react. She had panicked. She really had. She had no inborn abilities like Daphne and Tracey, and she had never been in such a dangerous situation like this. She had watched as much older students tried in vain to pierce the monster's hides. Her fury at Harry's hit and her terror has warred, up until she saw what she thought were her last two friends – the only ones who understood her and cared for her – about to die.

Magic screamed out of Hermione's hands, grabbing the troll's club and ripping it straight out of its hand. The troll swung its arm, and almost broke its finger against the stone, which itself _did_ break. It stared stupidly at first its empty hand, and then at the club floating in the air.

It wasn't staring for long. "YOU WON'T HURT THEM!" Hermione screeched before slamming the giant club straight into the trolls face. It howled as it fell to its knees, batting at the errant weapon. Hermione raised it and hit it again, knocking it onto its back, "GO AWAY GO AWAY GO AWAY!" She first screamed and then sobbed as the club flew up and down, again and again. By the time she collapsed to her knees in tears, there was only viscous, green blood on the floor above the troll's stomach. Everything above had been turned into paste. The club slammed into the stone floor and didn't move again.

There was only one troll left, but the scene Hermione had left had shocked the students and the ghosts into inaction. Several were green and barely holding in their dinners. They all jumped when the last troll roared and started charging.

It didn't get very far.

With an almighty crack, the only one Lord Voldemort ever feared appeared in the middle of the Great Hall, in between his students and the troll. His face was like stone, and his eyes were positively glacial. His aura was oppressive, almost crushing the troll while wrapping around the students like a protective blanket. He raised his wand without a word and waved it. Once.

The troll didn't slow down. It didn't even get to register the sudden fear it felt. One moment it was a living, breathing creature, and the next it was a solid statue of ice. Its expression remained unchanged, its maw open in a howl of rage, transitioning into that alien emotion of fear. Its momentum carried over and the statue tipped, falling to the floor and shattering like glass. Its head rolled to a stop at Dumbledore's feet. Only the sounds of Hermione's heartfelt sobs rang through the hall.

 **-]|[-**

 **And how's THAT for an ending?**

 **Fucking hell guys, this sat at around 2k words for MONTHS on my hard drive while I was first busy with other fandoms and then in such a slump that I didn't get** _ **any**_ **writing done for months. And then in around two-three weeks, 2k turned into 27k+. This chapter was, in a word, a monster. I had wanted to be done with Halloween by the end of it, which I honestly hadn't thought would take up THIS much.**

 **Now for some things I want to address:**

 **Why did Harry not use his transfiguration skills in the battle? They were one of his strongest suits! Quite simply, SOMETHING was due for a burning. Or an incineration. Or an immolation. If you would like to sing the Fire song, go ahead. I'll just be singing** _ **I See Fire**_ **.**

 **If anyone cares, the meats Harry was eating in the hall during the opening feast were Brazilian Costela (Beef Ribs) as well as Picanha (Coulotte). If you've never had them and you like meat, holy fuck you're missing out. I'm drooling just thinking about it, and I'm not even a dragon! (Unfortunately. That would be quite fun.)**

 **Daphne's hair dye. It's quite simple; why the bloody hell didn't we have more Nymphadoras in canon? I understand Metamorphmagi being rare, but am I really expected to believe that there** _ **isn't**_ **a really easy hair dyeing spell? People paint their hair all the time!**

 **The Rock Climbing/Bouldering; why is it here and will it matter in the story? Well, not really. You can consider that author flavor I guess. Plenty of authors have their characters go for a run or a swim in their stories. This was just my own take on that, since I recently got into it myself and bloody well loved it. It also made sense story wise, because – filled with gold and jewels or not – Harry lived in a** _ **cave**_ **. Perfect for rock climbing in other words. Still, I can't completely rule out it playing some sort of role. Probably not, but anything can happen.**

 **As for the troll(s)? All I can say is…boy that escalated quickly.**

 **I don't think I've ever read a story that did what I just did with the trolls. It also showcased a rise in competency for Quirrel. I'll go into that later on in first year though. I hope you guys liked it! Also, the trolls themselves were Tolkien Trolls. I'd be more inclined to laugh at HP trolls, to be honest. Though I suppose that was a PG movie from 2001. (And werewolves. Holy shit, the HP werewolves look like wimps.)**

 **Also, can I say how utterly ridiculous it is that they were only just starting to actually** _cast_ _ **Wingardium Leviosa**_ **at Halloween? It's one of the simplest (and most useful) spells in the series, and it took them two whole months just to build up to it! What the hell were they even doing in classes up till then? The pacing for canon is kind of weird…**

 **On the subject of Ron: I'll admit, I don't personally like the character. That doesn't mean I'm going to demonize/bash him. If I remember correctly, the snoring thing was canon. If not for the books, then for the movies. I just…exaggerated a bit for both my amusement and for the reasons stated. Honestly, I think I kept him fairly in character, and if I feel he's going to be in a situation where he's going to be bashed, I'll probably either find another way to do the scene or edit the scene out altogether.**

 **Another thing that I almost always see is that – should Harry be in Gryffindor and not friends with Ron – Neville always becomes his friend. Yeah no. Neville is way too soft to be included in** _ **this**_ **group. His spinelessness would just get on Harry's nerves. Yeah, he eventually grew out of it, in canon, but that doesn't mean it has happened here.**

 **You'll also note that a rather important canon scene was not included in this, and some things happened later than they were supposed to. Oh, butterflies.**

 **-]|[-**

 **PLEASE READ**

 **I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me with spell creation. If you guys have a spell you want to submit, tell me:**

 **The language it is cast in (aka, the spell name in its translated form as well as what it means in English. Also, PLEASE do not just send me google translations. If that was what I wanted I could do it myself. It is bad enough I had to do it with the one Latin spell I used. Damn me for forgetting all four years of high school Latin. Okay, maybe not ALL of it, but certainly not as much as I would like.),**

 **What year they learn it in (aka, I need more spells to fill out the years. For a book about wizards and witches going to school, there isn't very much time actually spent in classes.),**

 **The difficulty,**

 **And obviously, the effect. Color, type, what it does to the target, etc.**

 **If I like the spell enough, it'll make it into the story!**

 **-]|[-**

 **Now, to reiterate some things: Harry is NOT the only special snowflake. Hell, even his friends aren't the only special snowflakes. If you haven't figured that out by now… Well, I'm not sure what else I can do. I had Draco Bloody Malfoy using wandless magic. And I'm going to have a lot of fun thinking up of more.**

 **The next chapter will (hopefully) be shorter and will (hopefully) finish out the year. There isn't actually too much more to go on in the first book. Quidditch is a nonfactor that won't really be mentioned much, if at all, so all that leaves is the Mirror, Christmas, Norbert, and the Stone.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Finished: 3/12/16**

 **Updated:**

 **Final word count (Discounting Author's notes): 26200**

 **Page count: 55**


	3. Original Recipe or Extra Crispy?

**Hey everyone! Been a couple months for this fic hasn't it?**

 **Just some small things to address before we get started:**

 **Some descriptions and a bit of dialog was pulled directly from the books.**

 **I discovered during this chapter that I've been spelling Quirrel's name wrong this entire bloody time. I was missing the second L. Oh well. Not really that important, and I'm not about to go through the other two chapters just trying to fix that for such a relatively unimportant character.**

 **One of you left a flame (in badly broken English of course) basically complaining about Hermione having a role in the story. To any like-minded… deal with it. Or leave. I'll never understand the rabid hate some of you can generate. Happens with pairings (Oh this is H/G bye fgt), happens with Dumbledore, etc etc. Just…get over it. If you honestly can't stand a fictional character to the point where you'll flame an author for including them (especially in this case, since it was Hermione who is a main fucking character in canon) then just fuck off. Just click that X. It's not hard. Don't waste my time and yours bitching about it. You'll just be ignored as I continue on my merry way. For fucks sake, I have characters I dislike too, but I don't grow a** _ **raging hate-boner**_ **every time they pop up in a positive light.**

 **Now, one thing I'm going to try not to do a lot of for the earlier years in this story are Training Montages(TM). Frankly, that's better left for the later years where more interesting spells can be taught safely. Not that I'm doing anything the books didn't already do. There was fairly little actual class time for…you know…a school. I'm trying to get the through the first three years as quickly as possible really. And really, I'm still just kind of goggling over the fact that the simple Levitation charm took them to bloody Halloween to get to.**

 **Despite that, I realized something pretty important after the last chapter. I'm trying to rush so hard through the early years that I've basically turned it into a four-person isolationist cast. And that really was never the intention. Plus they don't act like the kids that they are often enough. I started to address that in this chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy the scene in question. They'll be interacting more often with the other students in future chapters as well, if all goes well.**

 **As a final little note, I saw a review on a different story that I found a little humorous. The story in question had some very early sexual themes, and one of the reviews basically brought up puberty and how kids wouldn't even be thinking about that stuff till at least fourteen. Older people, if you don't think your kids are at least whacking it by the time they're twelve, I have some** _ **news**_ **for you. I remember back when I was in seventh grade years and years ago and one of the girls in my class was already pregnant.**

 **Welcome to the internet. You may find your porn fucking everywhere and the delete history button at the top right. Kids these days don't pretend that they're not perverted. Source: Have been twelve. Can confirm.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Now there's something I want opinions on. Harry's dragon form is kind of "evolving" in my head. The clear homage this fic was built on was Smaug of Hobbit fame, mostly because I had just watched Desolation. While he is the main inspiration, I have other dragons in my head who are also giant badasses. Deathwing in particular. While the main personality and the like will remain Smaug, I am considering altering the form a tad. I really want to make him a full Dragon eventually rather than the more** **Wyvern form he currently has.** **(Forearms and separate wings (six limbs) vs wings attached to forearms (four limbs)).**

 **And yes, in context of the story and how I planned things, this would work out. I'm not just pulling it out of my ass. (:p) I'm just not yet certain if I'm going to pull the trigger on it. So in the interest of getting the juices flowing, how do you guys feel about this?**

 **-]|[-**

 **CHAPTER III: Original Recipe Or Extra Crispy?**

 **-]|[-**

"Fawkes!" The single word that Dumbledore spoke was not yelled. He didn't even raise his voice. And yet that one word carried far farther than a shout could have. A brilliant burst of flames appeared a couple meters above them in the Great Hall, before the most beautiful sound many of them had ever heard filled their ears. Their spirits were lifted and the doom and gloom of the hall appeared to lift entirely as the red and gold phoenix appeared, trilling its song. It circled the hall once, spreading cheer and safety to the terrified students. Dumbledore smiled softly, before springing into action. Immediately, he went to Percy Weasley, who was still laid out from blocking the troll's swing. His forehead was bleeding and his left arm was bent at an awkward angle. Dumbledore's wand swished once, and the boy's arm righted itself painlessly. The cut on his head also closed up, "Take him to Madam Pomfrey, Fawkes. Then come back, we may have others."

The phoenix grabbed the Weasley with another bright note and the two vanished in flames. As the avian went, the lights in the hall seemed to dim again. Dumbledore stood from his kneel and cast his gaze around the hall, zeroing in on a sobbing Hermione and Tracey, with Daphne being out cold in the redhead's arms. Dumbledore came to crouch near them, running diagnostic spells on Daphne primarily, along with a few others on Tracey and Hermione, "Magical exhaustion…" he mumbled to himself, "What happened Miss Granger?"

Hermione was almost hyperventilating, "H-H-Ha-rry!" She cried, and pointed towards Harry's impact zone.

Tracey's head dipped, "One of the trolls got him square with its club." She whispered, beginning to cry anew.

Suddenly, a groan rang through the hall. Everyone's heads snapped towards the mass of tables and chairs in the corner. The pile bulged outward before settling, and then a second later did so again, much further out. The broken bits of wood clattered on the stone floor as Harry threw them off of him. He groaned as he stood up, his shirt and robes in tatters, revealing his toned form. His head was also bleeding. He reached up with one hand and rubbed his neck, groaning once more. His left arm was hanging limply and clearly broken. A horrendous series of cracks sounded through the hall as Harry appeared to pop every one of his joints, "That bloody well hurt." He deadpanned as he walked forward. The hall erupted into cheers! Even the Slytherins were clapping.

"Harry…" Hermione's sobs of despair turned to joy as she eyed him walking forward. "Harry!" She cried and leapt to her feet, racing out to meet him in a hug, "You idiot!" She sobbed into his chest, uncaring of the blood now dripping into her hair.. Harry winced as she nudged his broken arm, but his other came up to run through her hair.

"Sorry Hermione." He grinned lightly, showing bloody teeth.

"You look worse for wear, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore deadpanned as Fawkes came back. The immortal firebird took one look at Harry and landed on his shoulder, crying pearly tears onto the wound on his head. The close proximity to the immortal firebird made the inferno in his chest grow hotter for a moment, and both beings of Fire could feel it. If a bird could look at him shrewdly, he was sure the phoenix would have done so. The large gash under his hair immediately knitted itself closed with a steaming sound and what hair needed to grow back did so. Fawkes sang once more and took to wing again, lifting the spirits of the students in the hall once more.

Harry walked Hermione over to the other two and kneeled. A joyful Tracey grasped her two friends as best she could with the arm that wasn't currently supporting Daphne, "You're alive!" She whispered tearfully.

Harry snorted at Dumbledore, "Anyone get the number of the troll that ran me over?"

Hermione giggled helplessly through her tears, "I…I think it was number One."

Dumbledore's mustache twitched, "Well, let's fix up that arm, shall we?" He waved his wand, and Harry cringed as a shock ran up the limb and the bones righted themselves.

"Thank you sir." He flexed and twisted the limb this way and that, making sure he had full range of motion, "I guess I can cross 'getting my arm broken by a cave troll' off the bucket list." He joked, and was happy to see his two friends giggle.

Dumbledore's mustache quivered again, "Well, you and Miss Granger appear to be fine. Unfortunately, Miss Davis and Miss Greengrass will have to stay in the Hospital Wing for a little while. Magical Exhaustion is a mite more serious than a broken arm." Harry nodded, as did Tracey, "Are you two ladies ready to go? Fawkes shall bring you."

Tracey was the only one of the two still awake, and her eyelids were already dropping low. She merely nodded, appearing to lose what little energy she had and slump over. Fawkes caught her before she fell completely unconscious and in a burst of fire, they both were gone.

Dumbledore stood and went to several other students, reassuring them and helping to calm the ones who were very close to becoming hysterical. Even the Slytherins couldn't help but allow their respect for the man grow. Finally satisfied that he wasn't about to have students burst into more tears, he addressed the hall, "The events of this night will not be forgotten. You can rest assured that the staff and I shall be _closely_ reviewing the security of the school. If need be, I will hire curse breakers and aurors to come in. You may rest assured that this _shall not happen again_." Every student there could feel the weight of his presence. Every student was forced to acknowledge the fact that this was the greatest wizard in the world. "Everyone here handled themselves beyond admirably. You faced a threat that would make many cower, but you did not falter! Not a single student was gravely injured and all of you shall make a full recovery!" His voice rang clear and loud, and the hall erupted into cheers, "In this moment, you were not Slytherins nor Gryffindors nor Ravenclaws, nor Hufflepuffs. You were all students defending one another as one group! It is my hope that we may see such cooperation and comradery in the future, without the need for strife to force it." He smiled as he saw many students looking at members of other houses contemplatively, "Due to tonight's events, I shall be cancelling all classes tomorrow." The Great Hall cheered again, making his beard twitch in amusement, "Yes, I'm sure you're quite eager to return to the festivities. If any of you feel afraid or uncomfortable due to this attack, remember that the doors of the Heads are always open, as is my own. We will all help you as best we can. Do not hesitate to come and see us. Classes shall resume on Monday." He chuckled, "Don't stay up too late, children! A very good night to you!"

"Well, back to the dormitory!" Harry said, before leading Hermione out, hand in hand.

 **-]|[-**

Harry's eyes snapped open at the rather meek-sounding knocking at his room's door. A quick glance at his clock confirmed what he already knew. It was nowhere near morning. He growled lowly, a sound that had wrought terror in many a goblin in the past. He stood from his bed, a sheet wrapped around his form and held by his left hand. His right opened the door and revealed Hermione in her pajamas.

She did not look well. There were bags under her eyes and she looked like she had been crying, "Harry…" She whispered, biting her lip, "Do you…do you think we could talk?"

Harry's face softened at the distraught girl. He was fairly certain he knew what this was about too, "Come on in Hermione." He closed the door after her and laid back down. She blushed momentarily, but climbed into bed and held him tightly. The only thing separating the two was the thin sheet around Harry's midsection and her pajamas. "You're afraid." He said needlessly. His hand was in her hair and was gently rubbing her head.

"Yeah..." She whispered, "I…I was told this was the safest place in Britain. B-but…there were five of them!" She hissed, "Five! How in the world do _five_ of the dumbest creatures imaginable get in the safest place in the country?"

Harry continued his gentle scratching, "A lot of places that are supposed to be safe turn out not to be." He said finally.

"Harry…" She trailed off, leaning back and up to look at him. She looked cute, biting her lip, "You… How could you do all those things? You're just a first year like me! I…"

"Should not be comparing yourself to me, Hermione." He chuckled, though he stopped when she just looked stricken, "You're brilliant Hermione, but you've never been in danger before now." He said and cracked a grin, "You've dealt with bullies for a long time, haven't you?" She nodded shamefully, "Then you should know that even a school isn't safe. Maybe they're safe from the outside, but not the inside. Kids are cruel little bastards, after all."

"Language!" She chided, getting an eye roll from him, "I know but…" She bit her lip again as she settled down on him once more, "I just don't understand. You didn't even _hesitate_ before charging that troll."

His grin widened as his thoughts turned to fire and death., "Of course I didn't. I wasn't afraid of them at all."

"Why?" She asked plainly, "They were going to kill you! They would have killed us all! And…and how did you survive?! It hit you straight on! I saw it!"

For a long time, Harry was silent. Almost to the point that Hermione thought she may have put her foot in her mouth, "They've been trying to kill me since I was one." He said emotionlessly, "I learned long ago that you had to take care of yourself."

Her breath hitched, "Harry…" She sat up again to look him in the eyes. She looked really nervous, "They? But only V-V-Voldemort-" She finally squeaked out, "-has tried to kill you!"

His smile turned humorless, "Your family…" She flinched, "They were not abusive…but they were neglectful. Distant. Cold and demanding." He eyed her, and with every word her posture closed up.

She sounded and looked close to tears again, "Yeah…" She whispered, "Mother and Father were always more concerned with their practice than me. All they wanted was the _perfect_ child to show off to their wealthier friends."

He embraced her again and pulled her back down, "Distant would have been better with the people I grew up with." He said finally. This girl was brilliant and the hint of steel that had appeared in her spine at the sight of Daphne and Tracey's impending dooms were all good qualities. The three were the best friends he could ask for really. All of them had jumped to his defense when that bloody troll had gotten a lucky hit on him, despite the fact that they had no business being in that fight. Though they hadn't all interacted, it had definitely brought them closer. For a moment, he was that child who had been desperate for friends at the Dursleys, who had been denied them. He wasn't about to let go of these girls, and he had to make sure they all became strong, "My uncle broke my leg no less than four times." Her raspy inhale and the way she almost jerked back in shock almost made him chuckle. She drew out of his arms and sat back, staring at him with shock in her eyes and unknowingly straddling him, "My cousin and his friends all had a game they loved to play, _Harry Hunting_. They would all chase me and if they caught me, kick me while I was down. Anyone who tried to make friends with me got the same treatment. My aunt brained me with a skillet once, and as soon as I could walk and hold stuff properly she had me doing the chores around the house. All of them. They were the kind of magic-hating muggles who would have deserved to have been targeted in the Blood War."

Hermione was trembling like a leaf and pale as a sheet, "Oh Harry!" She cried finally, practically lunging for him and wrapping him in a bear hug. A normal boy might even have cracked a rib. "What horrible people! How…how could they do that to you?! Why would they do that?!"

Harry shrugged, "Who knows. Hate. Jealousy. At this point it doesn't matter. I learned early on that I had to rely on myself." Okay, so not _that_ early on. It was only after he first transformed that his spine gained its steel, but he wasn't yet ready to reveal _that_. "Up until I came here, I was utterly alone. Adults ignored me at best and kids were forced away from me. I learned that anything I wanted, I had to _**fight**_ to get. Daphne, Tracey, and you are my first friends. You're my _only_ friends, to this point." He smiled and lifted her head up, wiping away her renewed tears, "And when I got hit, you all reacted. Maybe not at the same time, but you all put yourselves in danger just because you thought I was hurt. You three are some of the only one I _trust._ And I'll be damned if I let anything harm any of you before you can defend yourselves." She broke into a watery smile, "So the slightest chance of you three getting hurt meant they were a threat, and I don't suffer threats. Not anymore."

She beamed at him, "Thank you." She had a rosy blush on her cheek. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. It made her feel warm.

"But that wasn't the only thing that bothered you. If it was, you wouldn't have come in looking like you spent the last hour sobbing." He said, brushing a strand of her bushy hair behind her ear.

She looked down again, "I killed it." She whispered finally. And so they got to the root of the issue.

"And you did well." Her eyes snapped to his in shock. Really, she had _not_ picked the best person to be her temporary psychiatrist. He smirked in amusement, "What? Did you think I of all people would admonish you for that? I burned one of them alive. I incinerated it down to charcoal. You did _well_ , Hermione." She still looked dubious, "Think Hermione, what would that troll have done if you hadn't acted?"

She looked away, "Tracey and Daphne would be dead." She whispered.

"That's right. So you _saved_ them." His hand went up to her cheek and gently turned her head so they were staring in each other's eyes, "If the world were a kind place, this never would have happened. We would have enjoyed the feast and gone to bed early for classes tomorrow. But it isn't. Someone let those trolls in to the school, for reasons unknown." He stopped and considered, "Well, not unknown. I can guess at the motive."

"Whatever Cerby is guarding?" He cracked a grin at the nickname they had given the dog.

"Most likely. Seems like quite a good distraction." He said morbidly, "But the point stands. Someone let them in with the intention of them hurting _someone_. There are those out there without decency. I've felt it personally more than once, and so have you." She stiffened, "Your social climber, uncaring parents." Her lip trembled, "Us or them, Hermione."

"That's…really cynical." She mumbled.

He began laughing, "If they're really out to get you, can it really just be paranoia?" She cracked a short, uncomfortable laugh as well, "I'm not saying that you always need to be on guard for something to take advantage of you or hurt you. If that was how I felt I wouldn't be friends with any of you." She looked like someone had punched her in the gut at his words, "That isn't it at all. What I'm saying is that you _can't hesitate_. If there is any enemy attacking us, then we have to take care of it. Decisively. Those trolls would have killed every student in that room if we didn't act, and worse, they would have _eaten_ us. So don't feel bad that you killed it Hermione. Be proud that you had the strength to fight for your friends."

She sniffed, and the room was silent for a time. Hermione's mind was racing, even as tired as she was. She was only twelve! She wasn't supposed to be doing any of this! She wasn't supposed to be doing any fighting at all! She wasn't supposed to have blood on her hands! But no matter how she tried to circle around, Harry's words kept ringing inside her head. And he was right. She knew he was right, even if it warred with the societal values she had grown up with. What had those values ever done for her, other than get her bullied and teased? She wouldn't trade her friends for _anything_. They were the only ones who had ever been there for her, so if that meant she had to get used to the terror and exhilaration of a fight, then she damn well would. A yawn broke through her thoughts, and her eyes were drooping.

Harry grinned and pulled the comforter on top of them, "Go to sleep, Mione." She hugged him closer and nuzzled into him.

"Night Harry." She whispered through her exhausted haze.

 **-]|[-**

The next week saw Hermione's face light up in a rosy-red blush occasionally when she looked at Harry. She had been quite…surprised to say the least the next morning, when Harry stood from the bed and revealed that he slept nude. She had trouble catching his eye for a few days, and he had a blast teasing her over it. Tracey and Daphne, once they had been released from the wing and told what happened, also ribbed her about it in amusement. Of course, the first thing the black-haired beauty had done was to give Harry a bear hug of her own when she saw him. She was trying so hard not to cry, as the very last time she had seen him she had thought the troll killed him. There had been decidedly less amusement when Harry had also told them about the Dursleys. Quite the opposite. He had thought that Tracey was going to reveal a dragon form herself with the way she was almost spitting fire. Daphne had lost control of her lightning and blasted one of the walls accidentally. Even days later, it was still scorched.

All the same, their group had become even more inseparable than they had been, and that was saying something. So it came to no surprise that four students showed up at Hagrid's hut the following Friday, rather than the one who had been called there, "Ello kids." The voice behind the door then addressed someone other than them, "Back Fang! Back!" The door opened and Hagrid's massive face peaked out. He was holding onto the collar of a massive boarhound. Weeks ago, Hermione would have paled and backed off right away at the sight of the massive dog, but after spending quite a few nights playing with Fluffy with her friends, the sight only made her gulp.

They were invited in as Hagrid had to haul the massive dog back. There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home!" said Hagrid as he let go of Fang. It immediately became clear that the dog was as much of a softy as Hagrid was, against all appearances. It bounded over to Tracey and Hermione, looking for petting and cuddling. His tail was wagging madly side to side. He was a little weary of Harry, but decided that Harry wouldn't hurt him. Hagrid set about making some tea – which surprised them by being quite good – as well as some rock cakes with raisins in them that Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione were certain were made with actual rocks. They looked at Harry as if he was insane when he actually _ate the damn things_ without even a grimace.

"Well Hagrid, this is Hermione, Daphne, and Tracey." Harry made the introductions, unsure if he should introduce himself as well. He had never met the man before after all.

"Great to meet yeh four finally." The giant man rumbled, "I've heard nothing but good thin's from yer professors." He grinned, and the girls all smiled, "Grea' thin' yeh all did." He said good naturedly, "Them trolls were nasty pieces of work. I heard yeh took one of em down yerself, huh Harry?"

Harry smirked. So that was what this was about? Well, he couldn't begrudge the giant man for being interested, "Yeah, I did."

Hagrid eyed him shrewdly, "Funny, even for a taller and more well-built student than yeh rightly should be, yeh don' look like yeh could muscle down a troll." Hagrid chuckled, "Me? Could have done the same o' course. But I have the bulk ter do that."

Tracey rolled her eyes, "Don't bother Hagrid. We've been trying to get that secret out of him for months. Cheeky blighter."

Harry just sat there looking inordinately pleased with himself, up until Daphne rolled her eyes and smacked him in the back of the head. But Hagrid looked even more interested now, "Months? It hasn' been that long since the trolls."

Tracey giggled, "Well, mister muscles over here decided it would be fun to go see the Cerberus on the third floor."

Hagrid choked on his tea, "Oii! Yeh lot aren' supposed ter know abou' Fluffy!"

Hermione coughed and snorted at the same time. As her eyes watered, she rasped out, "Fluffy?"

Harry burst out laughing, "Its name is Fluffy? That totally doesn't fit!"

Hagrid looked both flustered and a little embarrassed, "He used ter be smaller."

"Oh?" Daphne looked interested, "You've known him since he was small? Is he your dog Hagrid?"

"Yeah, course he's mine." Hagrid said looking quite nervous, "But yeh lot really shouldn' be going in there! It's off limits ter studen's!"

Harry waved him away, "Relax Hagrid. I can handle Fluffy. They've been trying to find out about my strength because of him after all."

Tracey giggled, "I still want to call him Cerby!" She needled Hermione, who had been the first one to call him that.

Hagrid still didn't look happy, "Look yeh lot, that floor is dangerous, and not jus' because of Fluffy!"

But now the quartet were extremely curious, and tried to get more information. Daphne took up the questioning, "We know. We saw the trapdoor after all." The huge man began to sweat, "We don't care about what's down there. Harry just wanted to play with Cerby. He's such a good puppy after all." She smirked when Hagrid relaxed a little. Clearly animals were the way to his heart, "And it isn't good for him to be all alone in that room all the time. He'll get lonely."

Hagrid shook his head, "Yeh still shouldn' be there. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the…" He trailed off and shook his head, "Should not have said that." He mumbled to himself, before straightening up, "Now yeh lot…yeh forget about that dog and that it's guardin summat! That's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-" He looked stopped talking and looked quite like he wanted to strangle himself.

 **-]|[-**

"Nicholas Flamel?!" Daphne looked uncharacteristically shocked and her voice was quite shrill, " _Nicholas Flamel?!_ "

Her three friends looked at her in amusement, "Going to tell us who that is or you just going to keep saying his name?" Harry snickered at seeing the usually-composed girl practically freak out.

She glared at him, "Nicholas Flamel…that's an old name. A really old name. As in literally old."

Tracey rolled her eyes, "Well, enlighten us!"

"He's an alchemist." Daphne finally said, "No…he's _the_ alchemist. He's the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone."

Tracey lost all of her amusement and choked on her saliva, "Oh shit!" She gasped. She may not have paid as much attention as Daphne to big wizarding names – she was only a half-blood after all, and her ambitions weren't really political – but she definitely recognized _that._ It was a testament to Daphne's shock that she didn't even admonish her friend.

Hermione however, did, "Language!" She chided.

Harry chuckled, "Care to enlighten the dirty muggle-raised peasants?"

"It's no laughing matter!" Daphne said frostily, "I'm even inclined to listen to Hagrid and not go back to that room! It's now clear. Someone let those trolls in specifically to cause a distraction and get past that dog."

Harry saw how serious she was, and he then mirrored her, "Alright, so we have to watch our backs. What is this stone?"

Tracey was the one who replied, "The Philosopher's Stone is an alchemical artifact that allows you to ignore many of the Laws of Transfiguration." She said grimly, "It will turn any metal into _**pure**_ gold and can create an Elixir which will make you immortal."

Oh that _really_ was not a good thing to say to Harry. For the first time in years, he felt a rather insistent pull in the back of his mind. The same kind of nagging pull that had led him to dominate and subjugate his first Gold Cave. The beast within him was beyond hungry to get its claws on that item.

And it was clear on his face, if the widened eyes of his friends told him anything. "No!" Daphne said shrilly, pointing a finger at him, "Get that idea out of your head mister!" Tracey and Hermione latched onto his arms and wouldn't let go, "You're a first year! Absurd strength or not, you're not going down there!"

Since he had first conquered his hoard, he had felt the pull again. Many times more. Eventually, he had learned to dim it out. He had learned to push it to the back of his mind. So once more, he used that incredible willpower to push the feeling down. He smiled at them reassuringly, "Yeah, you're right." He chuckled, ' _I have more than enough gold to bathe in at home._ '

 **-]|[-**

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake turned frigid. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver-skin boots. And with the cold and ice came the fever.

Quidditch fever specifically. The entire school practically went mad in the days leading up to the first match of the year. All of the good feelings and comradery the houses had managed to gather in the wake of the troll attacks went up in smoke the minute the house rivalries started cropping up. After a week or two at most of some cooperation between even Gryffindor and Slytherin, the heated arguments over which team was best ruined it all. Before the third week, a student had even ended up in the Hospital Wing. It all came to a head during the first match of the year; Gryffindor vs Slytherin.

Despite his and Hermione's utter lack of interest in the sport, Daphne and Tracey had grown up with it and had wanted to watch the match. They all sat together, but not a single person even dared to think the word 'traitor.' Not after Halloween. Helping to save so many students had earned them all more than a couple points with every house. The game hadn't been going on for more than ten minutes before a few things became clear. Firstly – barring the seeker – the Gryffindor team was obviously the more skilled one. Their Chasers worked together almost flawlessly, and they couldn't have been a group for much more than two years. They had some real talent. Fred and George – or Gred and Forge as they insisted on being called at times – were both two halves of the same brain, and thus had the Bludgers on lockdown. Wood was making save after save, and it was clear that his fanaticism had skill behind it too.

The Slytherins on the other hand, were clearly going for intimidation rather than skill. Their players were almost all bigger and burlier, and definitely meaner looking. After fifteen minutes they had already been fouled a couple times by Madam Hooch. Their Captain Flint had smashed right into poor Alicia Spinnet and almost knocked her off her broom at one point. They definitely were going for aggression where they thought they could get away with it, to make up for the relative lack of skill.

"Budge up there, move along." The giant man who they had tea with a few weeks ago had decided to come watch the game.

"Hagrid!" Tracey greeted him with a smile.

They all squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them. "Bin watchin' from me hut," He said, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd yeh know? No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nah." Tracey said, "Been pretty boring so far actually, except for a few fouls. Neither of the Seekers have seen it yet, and most of the Chaser play has been pretty on the level."

She would have gone on, but a bored Harry interrupted them, "It's behind Bletchley's ear." He lazily scratched his ear.

"EH?!" All three girls as well as Hagrid looked at him wide eyed.

Hagrid brought his binoculars to his eyes and squinted, "Blimey, he's righ'! It's floatin' righ' behind the middle goalpos'!"

Tracey's eyes widened as she spotted it. She burst out laughing, "Boy am I glad that you don't like the sport! Our house would have gotten slaughtered! How long did it take you to find it?"

"Find it?" Harry switched from boredom to smug amusement, "I never lost it." Everyone's eyes went wide, "I've known where it was the entire game. It started out hiding under Hooch's robes, and then it flew so far up you could consider it out of play." The Snitch _was_ made out of gold after all. Even if he hadn't been able to track it with his eyes the entire time, he still could _sense_ it. "Why do you think I've been so bored? The game wouldn't have lasted long enough to even score before I caught it."

"Watch out!" Hermione suddenly screamed. His eyes went wide as one of the Bludgers came rocketing right for him. She froze, so he had to tackle her out of the way, and he made it just in time. The Bludger impacted the section he had been sitting on, throwing wood chips and fragments everywhere. Tracey and Daphne screamed in shock even as Hagrid sprang into action and hovered over them in protection. A rumbling under them told them that the ten inch iron ball was coming back around. Harry dodged out of the way again but tripped because of the bleachers. Wood exploded upward as the cannon ball broke through the stands again.

The attacking Bludger had not gone unnoticed by Fred and George. Fred rushed forward to try to hit the ball out of the way, but it broke right through his bat as if it was made of flimsy Styrofoam. He looked at the broken handle in shock. Harry had gotten up and his eyes were blazing. He flicked his wrist and his angry wand snapped into his hand. With a wave, the bleachers below – which had quickly cleared of panicking students – rose up as if transformed into liquid. The wood became a solid wall in front of Harry and then it thickened more than a dozen times over, expanding into a thick barrier of wood. Another flick of his wand and it transformed into a wall of stone.

With a mighty crash, the Bludger smashed into the barricade. Cracks formed on the stone and a shower of grit rained downward. The angry ball wiggled and broke free, retreated back a couple dozen feet before smashing into it again. The cracks on the stone widened and deepened. It freed itself a second time and shot into the air this time, looking to get around the barrier. But Harry didn't let it. With another flick of the wrist, the broken stone wall became pristine once more, before seemingly liquefying. A giant hand started rising out, chasing the cannonball. It snatched the ball out of the air and held it in a stone fist.

The iron ball was almost screeching angrily as it tried to escape it's stone prison. Harry growled in rage as his fist ignited in flames. Everyone had either scrambled away from him – seeing him as the clear target – or had been pulled away. So no one felt the extreme temperature as he slammed his own fist into the stone hand. White hot heat started flowing up the arm and turning it molten. Little balls of molten rock occasionally exploded off the arm as the blaze rose. When it finally reached the Bludger, the inferno broke the enchantments on it and quickly melted it into slag, which dribbled down the arm. All that was left of the attack was his volcanic-looking limb.

 **-]|[-**

"That's the second time in under a month that we've been attacked." He growled, still furious over what had happened. The Bludger likely wouldn't have hurt him too badly, but he could not say the same about Hermione or Tracey. Daphne could have just transformed into her lightning form, but neither of the other two had such luck. Hermione had been right beside him when it charged at him like a rampaging bull the first time!

He had spent the last night talking with the headmaster and hadn't been able to speak with his friends. The game had been forcefully postponed much to the anger of the truly rabid fans of the sport. When some of the students had complained that the ball had just malfunctioned and that the threat was over, he had snarled and pointed out the snitch which had taken to hiding underneath one of the Slytherin beaters as they stared wide-eyed at the volcanic hand Harry had created. The Seekers were still being grilled by their houses for not seeing it at any point in the game for the next week.

He was only now able to group up with the girls, and they looked a little shaken. He was pacing about angrily, and it was making Tracey a little dizzy. She pulled him down and into a hug, "We're all okay Harry." She whispered.

"Only because it was targeting me and Hagrid was nearby." Harry was having to force down his natural reactions very hard. He very much wanted to transform and rampage until the assailants were dead, and the only real reason he was able to keep that instinct down was that he had no idea _who_ was behind it. "Daphne could have transformed, but you and Hermione were in danger."

Hermione spoke up quietly, still very much shaken, "Obviously someone was jinxing it." She said, "I saw Snape staring at you without blinking. He was muttering under his breath."

"Too obvious." Daphne shook her head, "After the reaming the headmaster gave him, he wouldn't try anything so overt. He would know he'd be a prime suspect if Harry actually got hurt, or one of us."

"It wouldn't be Snape." Harry shook his head in agreement, "He owed my father a life debt which was never repaid. He wouldn't have been able to maintain the concentration to keep the Bludger under his hold if his magic was rebelling."

"So who was it?" Tracey asked in frustration. "And why then? He or she couldn't have stolen the Stone without being in two places at once, so it wasn't a distraction."

Harry sat down heavily, "No idea, but I think we should all start practicing some more defensive magic." He said, getting nods of agreement, "After my little show, whatever asshole-" He smirked as Daphne and Hermione both admonished him automatically, "-it was that attacked me might get the utterly idiotic idea to try to hurt you girls."

"What kind of defensive spells?" Hermione asked curiously. She was still very much afraid. She hadn't been raised well, but she had never been in _danger_. Her stomach was fluttering and she was feeling very jittery, but the hat had put her into Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw for a reason. Since the troll attack, she had been internally warring with herself, especially after her talk with Harry was reinforced by speaking with her two female friends. It would take her a while, but she wasn't about to let anyone sour the happiness she had found at Hogwarts. She was done being a victim.

"Some shields obviously." Tracey smirked and bumped her elbow into Daphne's side.

Daphne smirked, "Normally a muggleborn wouldn't be able to cast even a basic **Protego** until the second or third year." She began to chuckle at the affront on Hermione's face, "But then again, most muggleborn wouldn't be able to rip a troll's club out of its hand with a levitation charm." She smiled fondly at the brunette, who flushed under the attention.

 **-]|[-**

The weeks had continued going by, thankfully with no more attacks. That did not mean that the quartet had lightened up on their defensive self-studying. Daphne had a repertoire of defensive spells that a girl of twelve really had no business knowing, along with more than a handful of offensive spells. Tracey was no slouch herself, though she knew far less spells than her childhood friend. The life of a pureblood heiress was definitely not one that you could be unprepared for, and her parents had given her just under a year of early training to defend herself.

Had she been overt about her knowledge, no doubt the same rumors that followed Severus Snape in his early school years would have followed her. Thankfully, she had an angry, extremely powerful dragon nearby to soak up most of the attention. With the danger that they had found themselves in twice, she passed her knowledge on to her friends. They had begun dueling one another, though as none of them were too well versed in healing spells they kept it fairly light. The nimbleness and increased stamina given to them by Harry's gym had really worked wonders for them. Daphne was amazed to see how much more powerful she felt when she easily performed a routine that would have brought her to her knees months ago.

Hermione was the most academic of the three in her fighting style. She had no inborn abilities after all, so she relied on sheer knowledge to get her through her duels. Tracey had taken to training her Valkyrie powers much more heavily, and she often dueled from the air. Daphne had gotten much more comfortable embracing the lightning, and had exhausted herself several times trying to increase her endurance. But it was Harry who really was the most terrifying, because he made it absolutely clear that he was a transfiguration _genius_. The display during the Gryffindor vs Slytherin match had become positively tame with some of the things he came up with. And that was without even counting his fire, which he never used on the girls.

So it was that they continued to grow. The pace of their regular classes had become positively mind-numbing with how boring they were. Several other students in their year were equally as talented in some classes, such as the Patil sisters – and wasn't it quite the surprise to find out that the giggly Gossip Queen Parvati was her more studious sister's equal in magic – the Bones Heiress, as well as several others of the Slytherins. So at least they weren't alone in their boredom. But they were quite in need of a break from the tedium, so they were ecstatic to see the Yule vacation signup sheet. All three of the girls put their names up – though Hermione did so reluctantly – while Harry decided he would quite like to explore more of the castle. It wasn't as if he couldn't come and go as he pleased.

One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrel around, bouncing off the back of his smelly turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the common rooms and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

Well, that was how it was for the other students. Harry's group thankfully had a built in furnace. That possibly contributed to Draco trying to be nasty after a few weeks of silence, "I do feel so sorry…" The blonde said during a Potions class, "For all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." Quite obviously, he was staring directly at Harry as he said this. Harry didn't even deign to give him an eye roll. The downside to heating up the surrounding area was that he had to be extra careful with potions. Draco – seeing that he was having no effect whatsoever on his self-named rival – decided to toss a small toad foot instead. Harry's hand snapped out like lightning and grabbed the offending appendage, but his lapse in concentration meant that the flame under his cauldron burned a little hotter.

He and Daphne – his partner for the class – hissed angrily as their potion turned the wrong color. Malfoy looked quite smug when Snape came around tutting as if he was actually disappointed, "Five points from each of you. Such a pity." He vanished their potion without another word.

The two were in a bad mood for the rest of the period as they scrambled to try to get another potion ready, and by the time they left the room Daphne was ready to fry the blonde asshole. Ron Weasley had left the room in a huff as well, and had run into Hagrid who was carrying a giant Christmas tree. The two exchanged pleasantries for a little while. "Would you mind moving out of the way?" Came Malfoys cold drawl from behind the two. The quartet watched from a distance, "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose. That hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron dove at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!" Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes as Snape came stalking out of his dungeon with his robe flowing behind him.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"I'll get him!" They heard Ron say as he ground his teeth at Malfoy's back, "One of these days, I'll get him!"

Harry smirked and clapped the redhead on the shoulder, "Well if you do, get him good. Or maybe get the twins to give him a good pranking. I'm sure he'd be delighted to wake up with pink hair and green skin." He passed by without another word. Now that he didn't have to deal with his blasted snoring and that the redhead had _finally_ stopped insulting his friends, he was in turn not as antagonistic. Harry still didn't _like_ the youngest male Weasley, but he very much disliked Malfoy more.

Hermione sighed, "I wish I could stay." She bemoaned, "I'm not looking forward to not being able to use magic for two weeks!"

Tracey winced in sympathy, "Tell you what, you can come stay with us during the summer if you like!"

Daphne smiled, "I'm sure my parents would love to meet you! If you want we can try to have you come over during the holidays."

Hermione looked incredibly happy that her friends were willing to invite her over. "I wish I could. No doubt my parents have some trip or another planned for us." Said trip would involve no small amount of boredom as she would be led by her parents everywhere they wanted to go and nowhere that _she_ wanted to go. At least she would get to see the sights. She nibbled on her bottom lip, "That would be great if I could at least meet them." Her voice lowered to a bit of a whisper, "I really don't want to stay with my parents for the entire break." Harry of course caught the words, and he pulled her into a hug.

He said nothing, but he would really miss his girls. They left the next day, and Harry alternated between exploring more of the castle on his own, and going back to the Yukon to make sure his hoard was untouched and that the alert wards Albus had helped him set were still active.

 **-]|[-**

"Daphne! Tracey!" A miniature version of Daphne barreled into her sister and Tracey and almost knocked them over, "Ohmerlinimsohappytoseeyoudidyouhavefunathogwartsdidyoumakelotsoffriends?"

Laughter sounded up from ahead of them, as both of their sets of parents watched in amusement, "Astoria honey, do you think you could have said that a little faster? I'm sure Daphne and Tracey had a bit too easy of a time understanding you." Daphne's mother Selene said in amusement. She looked very much like an older version of Daphne, except with icy blue eyes.

"Oh leave the poor girl alone." Tracey's mother Cassandra – Cassie to those who knew her – swatted her best friend in the arm playfully, "She hasn't seen her two big sisters in four months." She had fiery red hair like her daughter, though her eyes were green to her daughter's blue, and she had no freckles. Contrasting her daughter once more – which infuriated Tracey at times – she was very much not a short woman.

"And neither have we." Alexander Greengrass was a fairly well built man with a goatee. He swept Daphne and Tracey up in a huge hug, "How are our two princesses today?"

Daphne smiled and pecked her father on the cheek, as did Tracey, "Hi daddy!"

"So, did you like Hogwarts?" Tracey's father Beorn picked up his own daughter from his best friend and kissed her on the cheek. He was a short and stocky man, and the oddball out with blonde hair. He wouldn't have been out of place in a forge.

Daphne was set down on the floor and went back to hugging her sister, "How have you been pixie?" She grinned as her younger sister instantly became outraged at the nickname - as she always did. She stomped her foot and pouted, "Hogwarts was…okay." She said neutrally.

Selene rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, the classes were dreadfully boring?"

Tracey grimaced, "Man, am I sure glad to be home!" She stretched, "I think I would have gone crazy if I had to deal with the slow pace for another day."

The adults laughed, "Well, we did warn you." Alexander shrugged, "We would have been fine with teaching you girls a few defensive spells, but noooooo…" he grinned as the two girls flushed.

A few hours later, everyone was all settled and dinner had been served, "You know…" Cassie said suddenly, "You two still haven't mentioned if you made any friends." She smirked at her daughter and the girl she considered her daughter, "So spill! I know you two haven't kept entirely to yourselves!"

"Oh! Oh! And what was that 'big event' you a…alluded? to after Halloween Daphie?" Astoria's big, bright blue eyes shone up at her big sister.

"Oh that's right!" Selene said suddenly, "Neither of you would say a word in your letters."

Daphne swallowed the piece of steak she had been chewing on, "Good job pixie!" She smiled at her little sister, who once again puffed up at the nickname, "We've made no true friends in Slytherin." She said, "We're amicable with a couple of course but obviously we despise Malfoy and his ilk are far too common in our house."

Their parents deflated. "I had really hoped you two would go to Ravenclaw." Selene replied.

Beorn nodded, "I had hoped as much as well, though I doubted that hope would come true." He shrugged, "We warned you two that you would have a lonely time if you went to Slytherin."

Tracey grinned, "Oh? But who said anything about being _lonely_?" She winked at their family, "Daphne said we made no real friends in _Slytherin_." Daphne had her head bowed, but it was quite clear that she was smirking.

Alex's eyes widened, "Oh, good show princess." He laughed, "So, you made friends in the other houses? That's a bit brave if I remember _my_ time in school. Ravenclaw?"

Twin head shakes were his response, as well as widening grins, "Hufflepuff then." Cassie grinned, "They'll be loyal at least." She said cheerfully.

"Not them either." The two girls had Cheshire grins on their faces as the adults went wide eyed.

"Oh my, how did you two get a pair of Gryffindors as friends?" Selene mumbled, "Last I knew the house rivalry was as strong as ever."

"Oh it is." Daphne confirmed, "We met our two friends on the train before we were sorted. One of them literally couldn't care less about where he ended up. As far as he was concerned, the whole thing was a waste of time which wouldn't matter after graduation." She took a sip of her juice. The adults all smiled in amusement.

Tracey continued where she left off, "Really, he let our second friend pick the house, and she ended up in Gryffindor so he followed suit." She grinned, "Her name is Hermione Granger, a muggleborn."

Beorn smiled and ruffled her hair, "Good to see you practice what you preach." He grinned, "Maybe she could even help you when it comes time to make that dream come true, huh?"

"Definitely." Daphne pushed her plate away, "Hermione is _brilliant._ " She said firmly, "Before we even got off the train, we wanted to see if she was any good at magic. She learned the levitation charm in ten minutes." Five pairs of eyes widened at the new information.

"How wonderful!" Selene clapped her hands once, "It's always nice to see someone new being able to integrate so well. Most muggleborns lag behind for such a long time."

Cassie let out an unladylike snort, "Some purebloods could take lessons from them."

"Well yes." Selene bobbed her head in agreement, "The likes of Crabbe and Goyle are quite troll-like." She smiled, "So, who's the lucky guys with three pretty ladies for friends?"

Tracey grinned, "Harry Potter!"

Astoria dropped her fork, "REALLY?! The-Boy-Who-Lived?" She exploded in excitement. Daphne cringed as the blast of shrill sound rang in her ear, "IWANTTOMEETHIMIWANTTOMEETHIMIWANTTOMEETHIM!"

"Stop it pixie!" Daphne flicked her sister on the nose, immediately getting her to stop jumping up and down and rub her nose in irritation, "He really hates it when people react like that. And he hates that stupid name."

Beorn let out a deep belly laugh, "Merlin's Beard, you girls sure don't do anything by half!"

Alexander smiled, "So, what's Mister Potter like?"

Daphne smiled softly, while Tracey hummed, "Harry… Harry is _awesome._ " Tracey bit her lip in thought, "But…If we weren't best friends, we would probably be _terrified_ of Harry." She said finally. She wasn't about to lie to her parents.

Selene's eyes narrowed, "Explain." She said sharply.

Daphne leaned back, "Harry is gifted at Transfiguration." She said after a moment of thought, "And I don't mean that in the way that we're talented. Before Harry even took his first step in the Castle, he was probably better than some fourth years in the art."

Tracey grinned in remembrance, "I can remember it like it was yesterday." She said dreamily, "We were on the train and Malfoy came to mouth off, and he called Hermione… _that_." Her parents scowled, as did Daphne's, "Harry snapped the book he was reading – one _written_ by Dumbledore – shut."

Selene's jaw dropped and she looked at the other adults in bewilderment, "That's…We don't like Albus, but we would _never_ say he isn't a brilliant man. This Harry sounds pretty interesting."

Beorn nodded as Tracey continued, "And he starts lecturing us about Transfiguration." Tracey grinned dreamily, which the adults definitely didn't fail to catch, "Like he can't read the mood at all and didn't see how it hurt Hermione." She grinned as the adults began to scowl, "And then we blink and he's holding a giant bloody spear in his hand!" She grinned in excitement as their jaws went slack in shock, "The book is gone and he drives the thing through the compartment floor, and all of a sudden he's standing in front of the blonde peacock and his two bodyguards and he _dwarfs_ them." She started laughing, "He was actually already taller than you, daddy!" Her father groaned and thumped his head on the dinner table as the adults got over their surprise and started needling him.

Daphne smirked in amusement, "Draco looks like he's about to foul himself, and Harry shut him down quickly. And then he got him in trouble after he ran to a prefect, because Harry transfigured the book _wandlessly_ and there was no proof." She had a butter-wouldn't-melt grin on her face, "Oh, and did we forget to mention that he has a three-core wand?"

Dead silence. Their parents looked utterly shocked, "W-well." Selene licked her lips to wet them, "Well." She repeated helplessly. If it had been an adult, that really wouldn't have been too out of the ordinary. But a _first_ year who hadn't even been sorted yet? And the wand was a huge tell.

Alexander looked thoughtful, "That's…impressive."

"That isn't the half of it." Tracey said, and now both girls looked nervous.

Selene sobered immediately on seeing her girls looking uncharacteristically tense, "What happened?"

Daphne swallowed thickly, "Halloween…We didn't want to say anything in our letters." She mumbled, and now the adults were positively alarmed, "Someone let five Cave Trolls into the cast-"

"WHAT?!" Cassie shrieked, her hair practically coming alive in her fury as she rose. Rainbow magic started swirling around her furiously. Selene hurried to get up – as did Beorn – and the two scooped their daughters into their laps.

That was nothing compared to Alexander. The room started smelling of ozone as a few tiny, stray bolts of lightning sparkled near the man. Everyone stiffened. Alexander was definitely the most powerful person in the room, and his fury was something to behold, "What. Happened." He said through gritted teeth.

"No one was hurt!" The two girls hurried to reassure her parents. Thankfully the pressure they felt diminished, as Alexander got a handle on his temper, "One of the Weasleys broke his arm because he used a Protego to block a club. That was the only real thing of note."

Alexander took a calming breath as Astoria got up and ran to him, cuddling into his side. He rubbed her head and smiled at his younger princess, "Daddy got a little mad." He winked as the young girl giggled. He turned back to Daphne, "So the teachers took care of them?"

Tracey cringed, which did not go unmissed, "Well, kinda." She made a wishy-washy motion with her hand, which did not put any of them at ease.

Daphne took a calm breath and continued, "The adults kept all of us together in the Great Hall. Dumbledore commanded the ghosts to watch over us and act as a distraction, and he had the younger students all go as far into the hall as we could, so that the older ones could protect us. He and the other teachers left to go hunt the trolls, but not before sealing the doors of the hall."

Beorn growled, "Sensible, but also foolish. At least one of them should have stayed behind just in case. Still, strength in numbers is not a bad tactic against beasts as dumb as trolls."

Tracey picked up, "Unfortunately, the trolls got into the Hall. I think whoever let them in also made sure they would find their way there as hidden as they could be." She smirked – back to her normal self – which caught the adult's attention.

"Oh boy, I've seen that smirk before." Cassie said in trepidation, "What happened next?"

"They were armored." Daphne said, "So nothing the older students really did was working. They were giving them minor injuries at best." She smirked as well, "And then Harry ignores all orders for younger students to stay safe and _crushes_ one of the trolls with a _punch._ " You could have heard a pin fall. "The troll goes flying across the hall and then Harry reveals the third terrifying thing about him." She grinned happily in satisfaction, "He ignited his fists in fire and then turned the dumb brute to charcoal."

The dining room was silent but for Astoria's excited breathing, before Alexander broke it, "I would very much like to meet this Harry Potter. Hermione Granger as well."

Daphne smiled, "Good, because Hermione is probably going to spend the summer with us."

Selene smiled happily, "Oh dear, I wasn't aware we were expecting a fourth daughter."

The conversation devolved to much lighter topics then. There was plenty more holiday to go to ease them into the rest of the first term.

 **-]|[-**

Christmas day dawned and Harry remained asleep, determined to be as lazy as possible. Years of not getting gifts had conditioned him to not expect any, even if he sent a few out to the girls. So he was quite surprised when he finally left his blanket-coffin and saw a small stack of presents at the foot of his bed. He blinked in shock at the sight, before a small smile lit up his face. He crawled over and grabbed the gift on the very top of the pile, which was from Hagrid. The man had whittled a wooden flute for him, and it sounded quite like an owl.

From Hermione he had received a wizarding primer on Gobbledegook. He had mentioned being interested in the language, and since Harry disliked sweets Hermione hadn't known what else to get him. Of course, she thought he was interested so that he would be able to speak to the dirty beasts in their own language, but his interest was far more personal. Who knew what secrets lay inside his cavern? Thousands of goblins were born, lived, and died for millennia without ever leaving that cavern. He knew that there were dozens of manuscripts and the like inside his hoard and he was quite eager to tear every secret those blasted imps had out of them. Thankfully learning languages as a wizard was nowhere near as tedious as learning them as a muggle. There were special spells which turned the language center of the brain up to much higher learning potentials.

Daphne and Tracey had combined for their gift; a copy of one of their family's books on transfiguration as well as another on fire magic. Tracey had also sent a few gags from Zonko's, much to his amusement. The final gift was wrapped in silver paper and was incredibly light. He opened it carefully and unfurled a shining, silvery cloth. It felt very fluid, almost like it was liquid woven into a material you could grasp. A note fluttered out of it.

He picked it up and immediately smirked. There was no name, but there didn't need to be. He recognized the handwriting easily enough. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen it a thousand times in some of his advanced transfiguration books.

 _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

 _A Very Merry Christmas to you._

He wrapped the cloak around his body and went to go look in the mirror. His jaw dropped as he realized _his entire body sans his head was gone._ "An Invisibility Cloak!" he grinned viciously. Oh yes, he would use this well indeed.

 **-]|[-**

The rest of the Christmas break passed without too many incidents of note. Of course, there was the Great Snowball War of 91 that he had fought against the twins and some of the other stragglers. He was pretty sure Albus had enchanted some snow to give the others an even chance against him. The twins had likewise once again enchanted snowballs to follow Quirrel around and smash off his turban, which greatly amused him. He really didn't like Quirrel. The man was far too much of a coward and there were times when he felt the man to be a little shifty.

For once, he actually enjoyed himself at a Christmas Feast that had other people involved. During his time at the Dursleys, he often had to cook most of the food and then eat very little of it. Dudley and his parents had lavished each other with gifts; electronics, bicycles, even a pet one Christmas (which Dudley sat on). Harry of course, would eat his tiny portion and then be sent off to his cupboard with a pence or two as a 'gift.' Usually he didn't even get to keep it since Dudley would just steal it. This time was different. Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of Chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys used to buy, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke. Harry had _cringed_ at that one and had to fight to keep from transforming due to the pain in his ears. At least he got to keep the Rear Admiral and chuckled as panicked live mice ran around.

Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him. Even Minerva had let down her hair, laughing at a joke Hagrid had told and even blushing like a schoolgirl when the increasingly drunk giant had kissed her on the cheek, much to the amazement of the Weasleys.

Later that night, Harry used his new cloak for the first time. He left the tower to the sound of a snoring Fat Lady, and made his way down to the library. He wanted to see if there was anything interesting inside the Restricted Section of the library. They were allowed nowhere near that section as regular students, and especially not as first years. The first book he opened made even _him_ cringe. He was no stranger to death. He had killed his own relatives and likely tens of thousands of Goblins at this point, but at least he just _killed_ them. His fire was hot enough in his full form that they might even have died painlessly. He didn't curse their skeletons to rip themselves out of their bodies and _tap dance_ to mock them as they died.

Still, he read on, because if these spells existed then he would damn well know how to counter them. An hour or three passed before he got tired, so he closed the book and went to bed. He repeated this pattern for a couple nights, until he got really unlucky. The book he picked up began _screaming._ It howled at the top of its proverbial lungs, and even when he slammed it shut it kept on screaming. Throwing his cloak on, he calmly sidestepped Filch and his cat and continued on his way. Or he would have, if Mrs. Norris hadn't _smelled_ him. She hissed in his general direction and made to follow him.

Filch began crowing in triumph, "Oh my sweet, have you sniffed out our little sneak?" He began jogging – and Harry used the term very, _very_ lightly; who the hell threw their knees up to their chests while running? – behind his cat. Harry growled and shot forward. His fist crashed into the sadistic caretaker's jaw and flipped him over, knocking him unconscious. In the same moment, Harry released the shackles on his presence, and the panicking Mrs. Norris went ramrod straight with her back arched as high as it would go. A low growl from his invisible form had the cat join her master in dreamland.

Harry smirked and walked away, but not before throwing the only basic healing spell he knew at the man. The unconscious body twitched as the small fracture healed. He was too fired up right now to go to bed, so he went exploring instead. He found himself on the sixth floor and a golden light drew his attention. He stepped inside and noticed that the only thing in the room was a mirror. It was _magnificent_ ; as tall as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. Near the top were a carved set of words, _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_.

He deadpanned. That was just gibberish. If it wasn't for the fact that it was carved on a mirror he probably wouldn't have realized that that it was merely backwards with spaces in places they shouldn't have been. "I show not your face but your heart's desire." He said as he took off the cloak and looked into the mirror.

Only he wasn't the one who stared back, nor what was clearly his older self the only thing shown. He stood tall and proud, heavily muscled and covered in armor. Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione were beside him, all older as well with their arms around him as well as each other. Each of them were wearing their own armor and their eyes were glistening with hidden power. But perhaps most importantly, they were all smiling happily. Behind the main scene were his parents. They were smiling proudly at them. Everyone in the picture was surrounded and protected by his dragon form, now massive to the point where even his current form seemed small. And all around were piles and piles of gold. _Everywhere_.

"So I see you – like hundreds of others – have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." Albus's voice rang clearly behind him. Harry didn't jump or even flinch.

"Good night sir, isn't it?" He smiled, drinking in their forms as well as his parent's forms.

"That it is, though not for poor Argus I imagine. That wasn't quite what I had in mind when I told you to ' _Use it well._ '" Albus came to stand beside him.

Harry's eyebrows rose, "Hmm…the paintings?"

"Indeed. You may be invisible, but you still leave a mark. It is strange how being invisible can make one so nearsighted."

Harry snorted, "I'll keep that in mind." He asked a question that had been on his mind for a while, "Why do you even allow Filch to stay here? He clearly despises children and gets his jollies off of terrorizing us. He doesn't even have all that much to do in the first place. We have hundreds of House Elves here that do most of the work."

"No remorse at all for hitting him?" Albus asked him reproachfully.

"I healed him didn't I?" Harry tossed back, "I wasn't about to have him chasing me all over the school, and I didn't know a spell to knock him out."

Albus sighed, "There are times like the Christmas dinner that allows me to forget you are who you are and think that you're a normal child. That allows me to forget that you were denied your happiness and that you feel older than you are." He deadpanned, "And then you seem to delight in showing me otherwise. You shall have detention, to be determined at a later date." Harry shrugged but didn't complain. He deserved it after all. "As for Argus… If I didn't allow him to keep his job, he would be hard pressed to find another."

"That's right, he is a squib isn't he?" Harry mused. He felt very, very little magic coming from the cruel asshole, "Frankly sir, he doesn't deserve it. He spits on your kindness every time a student hears him wishing to bring back corporal punishment. I heard him muttering about stringing Fred and George up by their thumbs. He belongs nowhere near children. He doesn't even do anything important. The House Elves do most of the work, and they actually enjoy it."

Albus's mustache quirked in amusement, "You have not been the first to tell me so, nor I imagine will you be the last." But he decided to get back on track as he turned to the mirror, "The happiest man on earth would look into this mirror and see nothing at all. He would see himself exactly as he is. I for one, like to see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks. Another Christmas gone by, and I got not a single pair."

"The greatest desire of our hearts, huh?" He snorted, "I imagine the weak willed have wasted away before this thing."

"They have. The mirror is not cursed, but for some it may as well be. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Albus replied, "May I ask what you see when you look into it?"

Harry was silent for a moment, "Things that were stolen…things that are…and others, which have not yet come to pass. _Yet_." He smirked at the sight of his titanic form as well as his human form. Well, he certainly had a lot to aspire to.

Albus laughed softly, "Well, you certainly lack no confidence in yourself. Work hard then, Harry. Work hard and attain your dreams."

Harry turned, "Well, that's enough adventure for one night. Good night, Albus."

"To you as well, Harry." He turned back to stare into the mirror, "I will be moving this mirror, of course, so do not bother to come looking for it again."

"As if I would." Harry shot back, "Time I spend in front of it is time I'd be wasting on making it come to life." Harry stopped at the door, ready to throw his Invisibility Cloak back on, "If I may ask, what do you really see?"

Albus did not answer for a moment, "My greatest mistake…" he whispered.

Harry closed the door behind him and vanished into the night.

 **-]|[-**

"So why exactly did you have us build this monstrosity?" Beorn asked as he stared at the giant new wall in the backyard. The area around it was much warmer than it should have been in winter, and the wall itself was covered in stones of various shapes.

Tracey grinned as she cracked her knuckles, "Harry showed us this muggle thing called bouldering."

Daphne transfigured their shoes and attire, "We would have left him to do his own thing, but he knew exactly what buttons to push so that we would take it as a challenge." Their parents and Astoria noticed that the girls looked much fitter than they had four months ago. They had never exactly been dumpy at all, but now their muscles looked a lot more defined, "I'm glad he did, because when we started to practice dueling I lasted at least four times longer than I did before we went to Hogwarts." The two girls raced over and started to climb under the befuddled gazes of their parents and Daphne's sister.

 **-]|[-**

Before too long, the break was over and the students started arriving to continue the school year. Hermione had made a beeline for him and when she latched on, she did not let go. The two weeks she was forced to spend being paraded about by her parents was just torture. Tracey had been no less enthusiastic in showing her affection, though Daphne was more reserved. At least until they were in private, and then she latched on to Harry and Hermione like a limpet too.

A few weeks passed and the school year was back into full swing. Classes were as boring as ever and Quidditch had once again taken over the school. Wood in Gryffindor was training the team straight into the ground. One day Fred and George limped in looking very much like they wanted to let off a hundred pranks at once on a single person. "Snape's refereeing the match!" One of them declared, much to the horrified groaning of most of the rest of Gryffindor.

They were interrupted when Neville walked in, bunny-hopping into the common room. Harry wasn't quite sure how he climbed into the portrait hole, seeing as how someone had clearly hit him with the leg-locker curse. Most of the rest of the tower erupted into laughter, and the increasingly red-faced boy looked like he was about to cry. Hermione got up and took out her wand, "What happened Neville?" She started walking over.

But before she could do anything about it, Harry's voice cracked like a whip, "Oh it's funny is it?" Everyone quieted down, "Perhaps I should do the same to all of you and leave you on the first floor. You'll have a grand old time of it I'm sure." Several people looked away in shame.

Neville's voice trembled, "It was Malfoy…he found me outside of the library." He mumbled, "Said he was looking for someone to practice it on."

Hermione sighed, and began waving her wand, but Harry's hand snapped out and caught her wrist, "No." He said shortly, "Neville has to learn to fight for himself, otherwise he's only ever going to get walked over." He let go of her wrist and crossed his arms, " **Finite Incantatem**." He said clearly, looking at a morose Neville, "You know the spell. You've done it in class. Now's the time to use it."

Neville looked like he was about to cry as he tried the spell. He stuttered through it and predictably, nothing happened. "I can't do it!"

Harry growled low. How in the world did this _coward_ get sorted into Gryffindor? "Calm yourself." He said sharply, "Of course you can't cast it. You don't even believe in yourself. How can you expect it to work if even you're doubting it? Now take a deep breath, and do it properly. You _know_ you can do this!"

Neville sniffled, and several people in the common room started feeling bad for the boy, but he did as told. He took a few calming breaths, and then tried the spell again. But this time when it failed, Harry's eyes narrowed, even as Neville burst into tears. Hermione finally took pity and canceled the curse herself, " **Finite Incantatem**." An older student came by and cast a cheering charm on the distraught boy, calming him down a little. Or at the very least he stopped crying. Everyone in sight felt bad for the poor kid.

Well, almost everyone.

Harry reached down and snatched Neville's wand out of his hand. Most people in the common room glared at him. Taking another's wand without permission was a pretty bad insult. He looked at it and turned it over in his hand, "Neville, whose wand is this?"

Neville started, "I-it's mine!" He stuttered in surprise.

Harry turned a glare on him and he cringed, "Whose wand _was_ this then?"

Neville stammered, "I-it was my d-dad's wand. Why?"

But Harry hadn't even heard the last word. He had already thrown his arms up in exasperation, "Well of bloody course you can't cast a spell with it!" Neville recoiled, looking like he was about to start crying again. "Every wand is special! If any of you tried to use my wand it would probably try to _fry_ you!" He ranted, and no one who had seen it in action doubted that. Harry _still_ occasionally lit things on fire when he used the wand, "This wand is completely wrong for you! It's literally fighting your magic and making things a dozen times more difficult! It might as well be a fucking _stick_ for all the good it's doing!"

"Language!" Hermione jabbed him in the ribs. She turned to Neville, who was looking pale, "Harry's right though Neville. I tried using Tracey's wand a few weeks ago and I couldn't get a single spell to work. Even spells I already knew failed!" Neville's jaw dropped at that, "You're a pureblood aren't you? You should know this! Who gave you this wand?"

"…My grandmother…" He whispered.

"Well your grandma's a bloody idiot!" Harry hissed, tossing the wand back to Neville. Even Hermione smacked him in the arm for that one, "Go to Professor McGonagall and tell her about this! You're practically five months behind because of this idiocy!" He hauled the boy up and ushered him out of the common room. When he walked back in, Hermione was shaking her head at him. Half of the common room was glaring at him while the others were nodding and metaphorically tipping their hats at him, "What are you lot looking at?" He growled, and the rest of them looked away. Ron Weasley was looking at his own wand as if it was diseased.

Hermione shook her head, half in reproach and half in bemusement, "You're all heart, huh Harry?"

He merely smirked back.

 **-]|[-**

Neville had in fact seen a marked improvement in his school work. After he had stuttered through a conversation with McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress had called Augusta and gave her what Neville was calling a 'legendary' lambasting. He had never seen _anyone_ brave enough to tear strips out of his grandmother's hide, and Minerva had practically torn entire chunks out. Not a day later, Neville was the proud owner of a new wand, just in time for the next Quidditch game, where Malfoy had taken to taunting him and Ron and caused a decently sized fight. Neville had not only returned the favor on Malfoy sending him crashing nose-first into the bleachers, but Ron had also given the blonde a black eye when he had gotten up. Of course, Crabbe and Goyle had smashed them in return, but it had given the dumpy boy a much needed boost in confidence.

The weeks went by, and before anyone knew it, Easter had arrived. And with it, came Hermione's realization that exams were _ten weeks away and she hadn't_ _ **evenstartedrevisingyetohmygod**_ _._ Needless to say, Hermione was a right terror for a few weeks while her friends looked on in bemusement. She had even started trying to draw study plans for them, and that was when the boot came down.

"No, Hermione." Harry said, "We're not going to follow your study plans."

"But we need these tests to pass into second year! Why aren't you guys taking it ser-Ow!" She rubbed her nose and glared daggers at Tracey, who had flicked her in the nose.

"We are taking it seriously." A calm and collected Daphne was casually browsing through the Defense textbook, "We're just not driving ourselves to distraction."

Harry shrugged as he read a Potions book, "I don't really care about taking first place, so I'm not stressing on the theory. I know most of it anyway and we'll all ace the practicals. Only thing I really need to worry about is Potions and History." Harry could brew sure, but he had definitely _not_ inherited his mother's hands.

"We already _know_ this stuff Hermione." Tracey stretched, "You're trying to cram so many things into that big brain that it's going to start leaking out of your ears!" She teased, and Hermione huffed. Tracey pulled her into a hug, "You need to relax. You're going to get top three easily. We still have weeks and you've already read through your notes twice! You practically have the textbooks memorized, but you're going to force yourself to panic and miss points because of all this!" Hermione looked horrified at that. Tracey giggled and waved her wand. Every book that wasn't in a hand flew into their proper bags, "Now, it's the first good day we've had in months! We're going to go outside and enjoy it, and I don't want to hear a word about studying until at least tomorrow! Got that missy?"

Hermione glared sullenly at her friend, up until she noticed Hagrid, "Oh hello Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" She smiled up at the huge man, momentarily forgetting to glare at her friends.

Hagrid looked kinda shifty, which immediately caught their attention, "Jus' lookin'. An' what're you lot up ter?"

Harry chuckled, "Oh, we're just amusing ourselves watching Hermione go spare." Hermione glared at him, "She's panicking over exams even though we still have over two months until then."

Hagrid began to chuckle along with him, and Hermione looked betrayed up at him, "Relax Hermione! Yer goin' to do great! Yer teachers say nothin' but good thins' about yeh. Drivin' yerself sick isn' goin' ter help anyone." He ruffled her hair, making it look more messy than usual. But Daphne noticed he kept his other hand behind his back. She nudged Harry surreptitiously, and he started paying more attention, "Anyway, I'm off!"

When he turned around, Harry kept a close eye on his hand. Hermione frowned, "What was he hiding?"

Harry sounded extremely bemused, " _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit._ " The three girls choked.

 **-]|[-**

"Please tell me that is NOT a dragon egg." Tracey pleaded against all hope.

"It's a dragon egg." Hermione and Daphne deadpanned, looking incredibly frustrated. Plus the room was utterly sweltering.

"You do realize you live in a wooden house right Hagrid?" Harry just sounded utterly amused.

"Err…" He began to bluster, "Always wanted a dragon." He mumbled as he looked down. Hagrid seemed to have just now come to that realization.

Harry began to cackle, "Oh Hagrid, don't ever change!" He almost fell over laughing.

"It's not that funny." Despite herself, Daphne's lips twitched, "Hagrid, this must have cost you a fortune. You didn't blow your life savings on it did you?"

Hagrid perked up, "Nah, didn' spend a Knut." He said proudly, "Won it las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

Eyes narrowed all around. Tracey looked at him seriously, "You've always wanted a dragon and a stranger pops by who just happened to have one?" Hagrid stared at her blankly. She huffed and started mumbling under her breath, "Gryffindors."

"Oi!" Harry proclaimed in affront.

"Anyway!" Hermione said loudly, "What are you going to do with it Hagrid? You know you can't keep it right? The Ministry will be after your blood if they find it…and seeing as how we're _right next to Hogwarts_ students could be in danger. Someone is _bound_ to find it."

Hagrid deflated immediately, having not considered that. Hermione almost felt bad. It was like taking a baby's toy away, "I'll probably keep it fer a few weeks. It won' be strong enough ter travel before tha'. I did a bit o readin'." He pulled a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library – _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_ – it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here – how ter recognize different eggs – what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

The girls wrinkled their noses at the dragon's would-be diet. Daphne spoke up, "Right, so after it hatches you'll raise it for a few weeks. What would come next?"

Hagrid rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "Could probably call up ol' Charlie Weasley. He became a dragon handler after he graduated. Good lad." Everyone else rolled their eyes. Of course he would say that.

Tracey sighed in relief, "Well, at least you have a plan."

 **-]|[-**

The next two weeks passed quickly as the anticipation as well as trepidation grew in the three girls. Hermione was right back to panicking over exams – which were still weeks away – despite all efforts to calm her down. It was honestly started getting more than a little aggravating, "Hermione you are being _irrational_." Harry finally snapped one night and Hermione drew back with a squeak, "We're all far ahead of most of our peers already. We've started doing self-study on second year work ages ago, and in Defense we're way past that already! The early years are designed to get the weaker students – both pureblood and muggleborn alike – to the same familiarity with their magic as the stronger students! This stuff is all easy and you know it! You're not going to fail anything! You're already _way_ past the mark! Fucking relax already!"

Hermione looked like she was about to tear up, and Daphne sighed, "While he was gruff, Harry has a point. You're just wasting time trying to review material you already know by heart!"

She looked down as her lip quivered, "I just…"

"Have nothing to prove to anyone." Tracey said as she yanked the distraught girl into her lap and hugged her from behind, "We all know you're brilliant, and you know it as well. We're not going to let you have a bloody breakdown." Her lips quirked, "Who know, you might even have it before the exams and miss them entirely."

Hermione let out a horrified gasp, and the three burst out laughing. She pouted, "It's not funny!" That only made them laugh harder, and despite herself, she began giggling too.

The next day, Hagrid was giving them very specific looks during breakfast, and they knew that the big day had probably come. They went to Herbology and then raced over to Hagrid cabin. Hagrid greeted them looking flushed and excited. "It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.

The egg was sitting there on the table. It was huge and pitch black, and already full of cracks. A funny clicking noise came from it as the dragon inside writhed about, trying to get out. All of a sudden, there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table and looked straight at Harry. It had a long, skinny body and overly large wings. It had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

The second it had burst out of the egg and laid eyes on Harry, it hissed angrily. The girls jerked back and away from the table, while Hagrid was crestfallen that it hadn't seen him first. The tiny baby dragon leaned forward on its wings and did its best impression of a growl. It was clearly trying to intimidate Harry.

As for the boy himself, Harry was just disappointed. The baby had none of the intelligence Harry had hoped to see in its eyes. He had hoped that the dragons he'd slaughtered had merely been dumb brutes with their will beaten down by the Goblins, but it was clear that they were probably the norm. The dragons on this world were just dumb animals. Predatory, highly dangerous animals, but compared to dragons of muggle fantasy they may as well have been mindless beasts. The fact that this tiny little baby could clearly sense _something_ was offabout Harry but couldn't sense that it was trying to intimidate the biggest fish in the ocean didn't give it any points.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. The baby reared back and sneezed, letting out a puff of fire. It splashed on Harry's shirt. "Harry!" Hermione shrieked in fear and the other two girls looked very much like they wanted to draw their wands and just put the dragon down. But Harry didn't flinch. He smirked, "You'll have to work on that, little one." He raised a hand and the fire licking at his clothes were drawn to his palm. There, it blazed into a far hotter inferno before he closed his fist and the flame instantly guttered out. His skin was unblemished and the Norwegian Ridgeback crawled away, now having an idea that it had picked a fight it couldn't win.

"Blimey!" Hagrid exclaimed, reminding them all that he was even there, "He really didn' like yeh fer some reason Harry!" Hagrid picked up the Ridgeback and let it start clambering all over his huge form.

Harry shrugged as he fixed his clothes with a wave of his wand, "Couldn't tell you why." He turned to the girls who were looking at him suspiciously, "Am I not likable?" He pouted outrageously. They rolled their eyes and began to giggle.

By the time the week was out, Norbert – the name Hagrid had given the dragon – had grown three times as large, and every time they came by, it seemed to want to pick a fight with Harry. One day, Daphne got a little too close, and Norbert decided he wanted a taste. As its neck reared back slightly in preparation to pounce on Daphne, a low rumble filled the hut. Everything stopped moving as the dragon stared at Harry with – for the first time – actual fear in its eyes. Harry was growling and it put the little dragon on edge. It started crawling back, low to the table.

"Stop tha' Harry! Yer scaring Norbert!" Hagrid said as he picked the baby back up.

Harry stopped growling, "Well, Norbert should learn to keep his fangs to himself."

The girls were staring at him in shock, "What was that?!" They exclaimed as one.

"He was about to bite Daphne." Harry shrugged with a small smirk.

"But how did you do that?" Hermione asked, only getting a large grin in response. "Oh no mister! You're telling us!" Harry merely stretched and put his feet up on the table, "Harry!"

After another week, Norbert had finally gotten too big and they managed to force Hagrid to write to Charlie. Later that week, Harry hauled the much larger, crated-up dragon and its (now headless) teddy up to the tallest tower in the dead of night over his shoulder. The Invisibility Cloak worked wonders to hide them. The dragon could tell who was carrying it, and it had been smacking itself into the crate earlier that night. Hagrid had been forced to drug it with a sleeping draught. Charlie himself couldn't come pick up the dragon, but he had friends who were coming to visit him. _They_ were the ones who showed up to pick up the Ridgeback.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. He spent a few minutes making small talk with them as they showed off the harness they had made for Norbert. After getting the young dragon secured safely, they shook hands with him and flew away. Harry watched as the forms shrunk on the horizon, half-itching to go on his own flight, "Sad to see your little friend go?" Albus's voice rang from behind him.

Harry chuckled as he turned and eyed the headmaster, who was seated on the stone steps with a steaming cup of tea in his hand. "It was no friend of mine." Harry walked up to Albus and sat heavily next to him, "The dragons in this world are just beasts." He said with a sigh, "None of them are like me. None of them have that intelligence. That sentience."

"You'll find many grown dragons are quite intelligent in their own right." Albus admonished lightly.

"Ah, but that's the key isn't it? _In their own right_. A tiger is intelligent in its own right." Harry shot back as he looked at the night sky, "They're smart yeah, but they're smart for animals. I had thought that the dragons the goblins enslaved were merely mindless brutes who had their will and fire beaten out of them, but Norbert was just like them. It could tell something was off about me. It might even have been able to smell it. And yet it was just mindlessly aggressive with me, despite all the times I shut it down."

Albus sighed as he drained his cup, "Take solace then, in the fact that only one of your forms is alone." He chuckled, "It was good that you convinced Hagrid to let the poor thing go. Another few days and I would have had to go down and do it myself. He was getting rather large."

Harry snorted and got up, "Well, that's enough for me. See you in the morning Albus."

"Good night, Harry."

 **-]|[-**

There were only two weeks left in the school year, and Harry got a bit of a surprise as he was walking down with Hermione to meet up with Daphne and Tracey. As they passed by a classroom they knew was not in use – they had used it themselves after all - they heard somebody whimpering from inside. The two friends – and boy did Hermione look loads better now that Norbert was gone and that they had managed to get her to relax a bit – looked at each other curiously. Harry whipped out his invisibility cloak and wrapped the two of them up. Unseen to him, Hermione blushed lightly as she pressed into him. It was Quirrel in the room, and he was practically moaning, "No, no…Not again! _Please_!" He sounded like he was _begging_. A raspy voice responded, sounding incredibly threatening. Even Harry couldn't quite make out what was said. It sounded…muffled, "All…alright." Quirrel sounded simply defeated as the word was sobbed out.

Next second, Quirrel came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He looked like he had just managed to stop crying, and he was utterly oblivious to all around him. As his footsteps died down, Harry threw the cloak off and they peered inside casually as they walked past. There was no one else in the room, though the back door was ajar. "What was that?" Hermione whispered to him.

Harry didn't know, but what he did know was that the second voice didn't sound like anyone he had heard all year. They walked down for lunch and met up with Daphne and Tracey, who sat at the Gryffindor table with them. A few owls entered the hall – slower stragglers who hadn't made the morning post – and much to his surprise, a small note landed in front of him. Harry blinked. That was…unusual. There weren't many birds that would carry mail to him. He unfolded it and instantly recognized Albus's writing.

 _Harry,_

 _This letter may only be read by you, but please burn it as soon as you are able. I am in the very unenviable position of asking you for aid. I promised I would not treat you with kid gloves, as I shall be keeping to that._

 _Something has been killing unicorns –_ Harry's eyes widened in shock – _inside the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid has been trying to take care of the issue, but he can only cover so much ground on his own. The only reason I am even considering asking you is because of your – ahem – party trick. I have no doubt that you will be able to remain safe, and due to your skills you will be able to cover a lot of ground. However, should you choose not to do this, I will not think less of you. If you decide to do so, I shall inform Hagrid that you are to have detention with him tonight at eleven._

 _Albus_

Harry calmly folded the note and tucked it inside his robes, "What did it say?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later." He promised and they continued their conversation. He made a show of stretching and glanced at the head table. Albus was looking straight at him, and he gave a little nod of his head. Albus nodded back lightly, and engaged professor McGonagall in conversation once more.

 **-]|[-**

Harry cut out the middle man that night and simply dove out of the window in his room. It was pitch black out and he transformed only his arms into wings, and gently glided down to Hagrid hut. He knocked lightly, and Hagrid greeted him with a smile, "Alright Harry?" Hagrid was holding a giant crossbow and had a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. His boarhound Fang was at his heels, "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want yeh takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

Harry said followed the huge man to the edge of the forest line. They were still pretty far away when his nose picked up on it.

Blood.

Clearly inhuman blood, but blood all the same.

Holding his lamp up high, Hagrid pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest. "Look there. See that silvery stuff shining on the ground?"

"Unicorn blood." Harry said in disgust.

Hagrid managed to smile weakly at Harry's knowledge, but sobered quickly, "Tha's righ'. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

The two walked grimly down the path, up until they came upon a fork in the road, "Righ'," Hagrid said uncomfortably, "If yeh find the unicorn Harry, send up green sparks. If yer in trouble, send up red an' I'll come runnin'. Take Fang with yeh,"

Harry shook his head, "I'll cover more ground alone." He smirked, "You watch yourself."

"Are yeh sure?" Hagrid patted him on the shoulder and at Harry's nod, took Fang down the left path, "Be careful Harry."

Harry watched as the giant man disappeared into the trees, before turning his suddenly blazing eyes to his own path. He transfigured his arms and flew into the trees. He was silent as he could be, occasionally landing on a tree as he followed the trails of unicorn blood. Harry passed by a mossy tree stump and his sharp ears could hear the babbling of a brook nearby. But then another sound replaced it. Something was slithering on the leaves, and it was making too much noise to be a snake. It sounded more like a cloak trailing on the ground.

He bit back a growl. So it wasn't a 'something.' It was a ' _someone_.' The sound vanished rapidly, even to his ears. Harry took off again, but quickly landed a few minutes later when he heard light breathing. He transformed his arms back just as a centaur walked into sight. To the waist he was a man, with red hair and a furry beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. The two stared at one another for a few seconds, not saying a word. Then, the centaur looked upwards, "Mars is bright tonight." He said. He had a deep, sorrowful voice, "Unusually bright."

"Blood has been spilled." Harry replied, "Unicorn blood. Have you seen the one who caused it?"

"Always the innocent are the first victims." he said without blinking. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

Harry snorted, "Right. Centaur." He scratched at his hair as he muttered, "Should have known better than to expect a straight answer. What is your name?"

"Ronan, young warrior." Ronan said, right as another centaur walked into the clearing. He was wilder-looking than Ronan and had black hair, "Bane." Ronan greeted the other.

Bane walked up next to him, "Mars is bright." He said simply.

Harry smirked as he looked up himself, "And for whom does Mars shine bright?"

The centaurs blinked, before a light smile sprang up on Bane's face, "That, young warrior, even we can't tell. A storm is coming."

Harry walked out of the clearing without another word. He merely inclined his head towards the two centaurs. When they were out of sight, he took to the air again. For nearly half an hour he searched, to the point where the trees became so thick that he couldn't comfortably fly any longer. The path became hard to follow as he landed and continued on foot, but he took heed that the sprinkles of blood were becoming more numerous as well as larger.

Harry almost growled as he broke through into a clearing. The unicorn was shining bright, though it was clearly in agony. It was twitching and the reason was obvious. Before the unicorn was a black shadow and from the slurping sounds he could hear it was clearly draining the divine being of its blood.

Harry's blood boiled as he flung himself into the clearing. His feet thundered on the forest dirt and the cloak reared back and began to turn. Before it come even complete the motion, Harry was on it and his leg was screaming through the air. His boot connected with the thing's head with a thunderous crack. The thing screeched like a wraith as bones shattered under the tremendous force. The sound was almost like a reverse-phoenix song, as the unicorn began to writhe in pain. The cloak went flying and smashed into a huge tree trunk, splintering it.

The being rose to its feet hissing and screeching angrily and a very human hand appeared holding a wand. But Harry was already in motion. He had spun with the kick and then sank to his knees protectively before the unicorn, and his torso was already transforming. A hellish glow shone from his chest as the inferno built within him. With a roar of fury, he threw his partially-draconic head forward and unleashed his dragon fire.

The world erupted into light as night became day and the blaze scorched through the air towards the bastard who would harm a creature so pure. The being's wand flashed and a blue translucent dome appeared in front of it. He was confident that his flame-freezing shield would be able to hold back a silly first year's fire. Even a first year as powerful as Harry.

The being under the cloak really should have known better by now. Horrific screeching rang through the air once more, but this time it held an agonized tone that empowered the two rather than hurting them. The flame barreled straight through the magical shield as if it wasn't even there. Flesh started to sizzle and bubble as the being apparated away in a fit of panic. The inferno continued on, burning trees to cinders in a massive cone in front of them.

Finally, Harry cut his flow out and eyed the destruction. The landscape had been completely demolished. Trees had hemispheres literally burned through them, making them look cartoonish in some cases as sections of their trunks were simply missing. The ground was partially molten and a heat haze rose up from it. Small flames still licked this way and that. Harry turned to the unicorn, even as he sent up green sparks into the night sky. "Shhh." He whispered as he gently rubbed the unicorn's mane.

It neighed thankfully, it's black eyes shining with suppressed tears of pain. Blood was gushing from its neck, and they both knew it would take a miracle for the poor thing to survive. Harry suddenly had an idea, "Fawkes!" He yelled into the night sky. For a moment, the only movement in the clearing as the word echoed around them was the trembling of the poor stallion. Then fire erupted near them and that glorious song filled their hearts with hope.

The beautiful scarlet and gold firebird trilled its song as it landed near them. It began crying into the noble being's wound, which closed before their eyes. Harry grinned, "Thank you my friend." He lightly scratched at Fawkes' plumage. The unicorn was looking much better now as the healing powers of the phoenix went to work, and Fawkes vanished in another plume of fire. Harry grinned as he helped the still-wobbly Unicorn up onto its legs. It was now clear to him that the unicorn was much larger than he had thought when it had been downed. It was very much a stallion. It sputtered and nudged him thankfully, "You be strong now. That son of a bitch won't come around here again."

Hooves clapped against the forest floor and the unicorn whirled around – almost drunkenly – to protect its new friend. A younger centaur burst into the clearing, and the unicorn relaxed at seeing one of the guardians of the forest. He had white-blond hair and a palomino body. "Are you alright?" He smiled as he saw the strengthening unicorn, "I am very glad to see our friend here was saved." He ran his fingers through the unicorn's mane. He had astonishingly blue eyes that shone like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, "I thank you, young warrior. My name is Firenze."

"Harry Potter." Harry nodded at him in greeting, "You're certainly more talkative than Ronan and Bane were."

"Indeed. They do not like humans." Firenze looked at him, "Do you know the purpose of Unicorn's blood, Harry Potter?"

Harry eyed him with a frown, "I do not. It hasn't come up in any classes. We've only used the horn and tail hairs."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," Firenze told him. "Only one who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death. Yet you shall pay a terrible price. You have slain something pure to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life from the moment the blood touches your lips. A _cursed_ life."

Harry's blood was boiling once again, and he itched to immolate that foul creature once more, "I see." He said evenly, "A coward then, who would rather be cursed forever than die." He cursed, "I can't think of many who would be that desperate."

Firenze did not look surprised at his reaction, "Unless of course, you only needed to buy time to drink something much more _powerful_. Something that will bring you back to full strength and power. Something that will mean you can never die. Young warrior, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"That bloody Stone." Harry growled, shaking the clearing, "Voldemort." He began to quake in rage and the clearing began to warm up. His parent's killer had been not feet from him. The unicorn nudged him and whinnied, taking the edge off. Harry ran his fingers through its mane again, trying to calm down.

Another burst of fire appeared, with Albus touching down beside them. He hurried over as Fawkes sang, "You've done a great thing Harry." He smiled and patted his student on the shoulder, "Because of you, an innocent and pure being was saved. Fawkes told me of the sad state he found you two in." He nodded to Firenze, "Good night Firenze. It has been a long time."

Firenze nodded, "It has indeed, headmaster. Mars is bright tonight."

Albus inclined his head, "It is indeed. Tonight could have gone much worse." He turned to Harry, "What happened?"

"Voldemort." Harry growled, the temperature of the clearing spiking, "Somehow, it was drinking the unicorn's blood. I _burned_ it."

But before another word could be said, Hagrid burst into the clearing, "Thank Merlin yer alrigh' Harry!" He blinked, "Professor Dumbledore! Firenze! Wha' are you lot doin' here?"

Albus smiled, "Harry had the rather brilliant idea to call for Fawkes. We were able to save the Unicorn because of it. But the story can wait for another time." He said, "We must get back up to the castle. Good night Firenze."

"You as well headmaster." Firenze galloped away.

Harry smiled and patted the pure unicorn, "You should be safe now. And if that thing comes back it will regret it." The unicorn shook its head and whinnied as it stood on its hind legs, before galloping off into the night.

"Blimey, unicorns don' usually allow boys to come near em." Hagrid said in amazement, "Yeh've made a loyal friend there." All three of them smiled as they started walking back through the forest up to the castle.

 **-]|[-**

Harry and his three friends entered the empty classroom and closed the door behind them. Harry had been most insistent on speaking with them and was almost pushing them in. "Ack! Stop that Harry!" Tracey admonished, "What's this about?"

Harry leaned on one of the desks, "You remember that note I got yesterday? I told you I'd tell you about it later." He decided to go with a little white lie, "Back during the Christmas break I got detention for punching Filch."

"You what?!" Hermione yelped in shock, "Why would you do that?"

Tracey sniggered, "Oh, what I wouldn't have given to see that up close. Filch is such a foul little cretin. You know he deserved far worse Hermione."

Hermione fidgeted, "Well…"

Harry chuckled, "Anyway, I was trying out the Cloak and I ran into a screaming book." The girls looked deadpan at him, "Literally. It started screeching the second I opened it. And seeing as how I was out of bed at night, Filch showed up while I was walking out of the library. If it had been just him, I would have gotten away easily, but that damn cat of his could smell me. I wasn't about to lead them on a merry chase, so I cut out the middleman." He shrugged without remorse, "But that's not important. What's important is that the Headmaster finally wanted me to serve it. I had quite thought he had forgotten about it actually."

"So why did it take so long for him to assign it and why didn't you just tell us about it?" Daphne asked a little suspiciously.

"Haven't the foggiest, but I served the detention with Hagrid." He dodged around the second question, "We went into the fores-"

"You WHAT?!" They all yelled with wide eyes, "But that's so dangerous!" Hermione yelped.

"There are rumors that werewolves live in that forest!" Tracey exclaimed.

"What is that man thinking?" Daphne muttered to herself.

Harry raised an eyebrow at them, staring at them with a stupid look on his face.

Daphne scoffed, "Wipe that look off your face! Just because you're tough doesn't mean you can't be taken by surprise! And not all creatures will be moved through force!"

Harry made a wishy-washy motion with his right hand, "Either way, we went in because something had hurt a unicorn."

The girls choked, "WHAT?!" Tracey rasped as she began to cough.

"Is Dumbledore insane!" Daphne croaked incredulously, "Well…more insane than usual." She amended herself.

"I can handle myself girls." Harry chuckled, "I didn't have a scratch on me." He became serious and the girls stiffened, "I found both the unicorn as well as the thing attacking it. Its screech was almost like a reverse-phoenix song." He said ominously, "Some stupid son of a bitch-" He glared at Hermione as she made to interrupt him and she flinched back in shock, "-was _drinking its blood._ "

"Oh Merlin!" Daphne clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

"That's…" Hermione looked green.

"I'm going to be sick." Tracey looked even greener.

"According to Firenze – a centaur of the forest – Unicorn Blood will keep anyone who drinks it from dying, even if they already have both feet in the ground and just need to fall in to finish the job. But in return, you will forever be cursed for having slain and forcibly drained such a pure being of its blood."

"Who would do such a thing!" Hermione exclaimed in horror.

"Someone with nothing to lose." Harry said, crossing his arms, "Someone who only needs to delay the inevitable, not stall it entirely. Someone looking to get his hands on a much _sweeter_ elixir. One that can return him to full power."

Daphne and Tracey paled to the color of milk. Tracey's freckles stood sharply on her skin and Daphne almost looked like a black-and-white painting with colored eyes. "The Stone." Tracey rasped.

Harry nodded, and Hermione spoke up, "But who would do it? Who would be that desperate?"

Daphne was shaking her head, "No, no, no, you can't mean who I think you mean! He's dead!" She hissed, looking very much like she was about to have a panic attack.

Hermione's eyes bugged out and she drew back in fear, "You can't mean…!"

"He's dead? Then show me a body." Harry said blandly. The girls looked terrified out of their minds. Harry shook his head, "Sorry girls, but do you really think one of the most terrifying Dark Lords in centuries wouldn't have a back-up plan?" The girls tried to swallow, but there was just nothing _to_ swallow, "He's weak now. A wraith. Neither living nor dead really." He shrugged weakly, "Or at least that's what the headmaster told me. He's long suspected that Voldemort tried to make himself immortal." It was rather disconcerting to see his girls look so out of it. They were normally so collected, barring Hermione's silly panic attacks over exams she was sure to pass. He smirked, and that caught their attention.

"Why are you smirking?" Daphne demanded, "So many people died under his rise! No one could trust anyone! He can't come back!"

"And he won't." Harry said, his smirk growing wider, "Last I saw of him, he was running with his tail between his legs after I shattered his face and incinerated everything in the general vicinity. Whatever time he bought with the Unicorn Blood I destroyed." His smirk turned bloodthirsty.

That brought their thoughts crashing to a halt, "He…he didn't try to freeze your flame?" Tracey asked in wonder. The color was returning to her skin at the knowledge that they were safe for now.

He began to laugh, "Oh, I'm sure he tried. But none of you have ever seen me use my fire."

They blinked, more calm returning, "Yes we have! You used it on the troll, and you used it on that cursed Bludger!"

He only laughed harder, "Trust me ladies… _no you haven't._ " He eyed them in satisfaction as a shiver went up their spines at that knowledge, "Anyway, he'll be desperate now. He'll be rushing for the stone stupidly, as whatever body he's managed to cobble together fails on him. He sounded like he was in agony last I heard."

Hermione shook her head, "Everyone knows that Dumbledore was the only one He ever feared! He won't do anything with the Headmaster in the castle! Not as weakened as he is!"

Harry stared at her, and a small smile grew on his face, "You're right." He said cheerily, and smiles of relief grew on their faces. But Harry's smile was for a different reason.

He now had his signal.

 **-]|[-**

The days had turned absolutely sweltering by now, and all of the students in the castle were much more interested in the lake than on the looming exams. Still, the teachers tried their best to keep them on target. When the exams hit, they had both written – done with special quills spelled to be anti-cheating. How that was actually accomplished was a mystery. Did they read your mind? – as well as practical tests. Around a third of the first years were practically sleeping through the exams. Like Harry and his group, they blazed through the written exams and then escaped out to the grounds.

Charms was simple as could be, as was Transfiguration. They had to make a pineapple tap dance for Charms, among other things. Harry honestly wondered what the point of such a stupid spell was. Others would have been much more practical. "Well, I guess it gives a foundation for later animation spells?" Had been Hermione's equally-confused response when he mentioned it.

Transfiguration had them transforming a small slug into a snuffbox. The first year of Transfiguration focused mostly on nonliving inanimate-to-inanimate transformations for the majority of the year, and only just had started living animate-to-inanimate. Invertebrates were the easiest creatures to start the students off on, which was why the slug was used. They got points for how opulent they could make the box, and had points taken away if the box still felt slimy.

The rest of the tests were not very difficult either. Their last exam of the year was history, but that was tomorrow. Today ended off with Defense, and immediately upon entering the room, Harry realized something was wrong. He had not seen much of Quirrel in the past week. Their last few classes had been canceled as the man claimed to be sick. But when Harry walked in, he knew that wasn't the case. Quirrel smelled as if he had bathed in garlic, and he clearly was trying to hide some stench. Against Harry's nose, it was futile. Harry knew the smell of seared flesh very, _very_ well. Quirrel _reeked_ of it. He also had burn paste slathered all over his body. And last but not least, he was moving very, _very_ gingerly.

Harry had to fight very hard to keep the triumph off his face, and he calmly proceeded to smash through the test and exit the room. Once out of sight, a dark grin grew on his face. Oh he would _enjoy this._ He wiped the look off as an ecstatic Tracey leapt from the room and jumped on him, "We're done!" She crowed happily. She had her legs wrapped around his waist and was pumping her fist in glee. Harry held the excited redhead in bemusement.

"While she's certainly…en _thusiastic,_ Tracey has a point." Daphne had a big smile on her face as she hugged her two friends from the right, "No more boring classes!" She sighed in happiness, "At least until September. Hopefully next year isn't as mind-numbing."

"I wouldn't care if they were." Hermione said happily and she mirrored Daphne to their left, "If it wasn't for the school, I never would have met you." She sniffled, and they tightened their group hug.

"Freedom!" They watched in amusement as Parvati Patil raced out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom while tearing off her clothes – revealing a one-piece bikini – and yelling, "Freedom!" She stuffed them in her bag as she went and hurried off towards the lake.

"She has the right idea you know." Harry smirked, "Let's go enjoy ourselves!"

"But I don't have a swimsuit!" Hermione yelped as they dragged her along.

Tracey facepalmed as Daphne let out a happy little laugh, "Are you a witch or not?" Hermione went red in embarrassment. They were only a few minutes after Parvati and there were already a good number of students swimming in the lake.

They had all either switched or transfigured their robes into swimsuits and were about to jump in when Harry froze. He eyed the water with a deadpan look on his face. The girls had already jumped in (or were thrown in by an evil, eager redhead) and were splashing each other when they realized Harry wasn't with them. Tracey blinked up at him, "Hey Harry, what's the hold up?"

Harry had an uncharacteristic blush on his face, "Err…" They all blinked owlishly at him. Who the hell was this and how had they managed to steal Harry's skin without them noticing? "I ah…I've never actually swam before." He scratched his chin in a little embarrassment.

They goggled at him, before Tracey broke into laughter and started to crow, "Ahaha! Finally! I've been waiting all year to find something you're not great at!"

"Tracey!" Hermione squeaked, "Don't laugh!"

Daphne had a smirk tugging at her lips, "Well you're not going to learn if you just stand there." Her eyes were sparkling in her amusement.

He half shrugged, "Well, in for a Knut I suppose." He bent his knees and then leapt, far over their heads in a single bound. Their eyes widened in shock as he flew over them and cannonballed into the drink. When he came back up, he seemed to have the right idea with his feet but his arms were swinging wildly. And that was when he came to the realization that his other form was actually _cringing_ at being inside the water. Every draconic instinct he had was telling him to transform and _boil_ this entire lake away from him. He also felt a little weaker than he normally would. He had to clamp down on everything with his iron will, but that meant he started to sink as his concentration was taken completely off of trying to float.

"Harry you idiot! You don't just jump into the deep end on your first time!" Tracey – the best swimmer of their group – came over and dragged him a little bit closer to the land.

Daphne was eying him in a lot more interest than was usual nowadays, "You seemed a lot more uncomfortable than you should have been. You were actually doing well for a few seconds before you cut out entirely." Her grin was widening, "Thanks for the clue to your _secret_ Harry." Harry gaped at her in shock as Tracey and Hermione's faces lit up in glee, "You'll get used to it. My family also feels extremely uncomfortable in the water when we're first getting used to it. No one can be inside with us or we'll electrocute everything until we get a handle on things. With how often you use fire…" She grinned massively, "Are you an elemental as well? I've never seen you transform like me."

Harry let out a small laugh of relief, "Swing and a miss, Daphne!"

The girls groaned in dismay. Daphne pouted and mumbled, "Damn!"

Tracey pointed at her in triumph, "You swore!"

Daphne blanked her face and went back to her cool confidence, "No I didn't."

"Yes you did!" Tracey bobbed her head adamantly.

"Get your finger out of my face."

"It's not on your face it's on my hand!" Hermione and Harry groaned out loud at that one. Daphne turned her head away with a sniff, "Why you little! Come here!" Tracey dove at Daphne and threw the suddenly squeaking girl under the water.

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed Harry by the hand, "Come on mister! You have some swimming to do." For the next couple hours, the group just unwound and had fun, and for once, they interacted with the other students in more than a scholarly setting.

Parvati and her sister Padma joined together to wandlessly throw a wave in their direction, "That's how it is, huh Patil?!" Harry yelled with a grin, "Fine!" He lowered his hands into the water with levitation magic surging through them, and then threw a massive column of water back towards the Indian twins. It arced through the air raining on everyone in its path,

They squeaked in shock but then grinned widely. They cupped their hands inside the water close to each other's hands and the liquid began to churn. They both swiped their arms up and away and an equally sized column shot out and raced towards the giant one Harry had shot. They impacted each other and exploded, sending rain and spray everywhere. They were all laughing happily as it happened. Students watching cheered and clapped as they watched.

Parvati and Padma swam over and joined their group, laughing gaily, "Holy crap Harry!" The more outspoken Parvati exclaimed, "Your wandless control is awesome! We both had to combine to equal yours!"

Harry chuckled, "Well, I've been doing wandless magic for longer than I've been using my wand."

Padma had a huge grin on her pretty face, "Harry, do you think you could help us power a spell? We can't shape it the way we want and power it at the same time yet."

"Sure." Harry was pretty interested, "What do you want me to do?"

They arranged him into a triangular formation with them as his three girls watched in interest. They all held their hands in the water with their fingers arched a little inward. They all relaxed and then Harry felt little fingers of their magic touching his own. He allowed his own power to be guided by theirs and a massive column of water rose straight up about a hundred and fifty feet before stopping and forming railings. With looks of intense concentration on the girl's faces, the water at the top started spilling out and forward, and looks of utter glee filled every muggleborn and halfblood's faces as they realized what they were working on. It was a water slide that was actually made out of water.

"Gred, Forge, I do believe we're being shown up by a bunch of firsties." Wood was with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team looking on with giant smiles.

"Well old boy, we can't have that can we?" The team huddled together and provided magic for Wood to form their own creation. In their case, it was much larger and more tubular than the other slide and went through winding twists and turns. The smaller slide was more of a thrill ride straight down before turning back up and flinging the rider up and into the water.

Finally, Harry and the twins finished, and now Harry looked at it in confusion, "Wait…now what? Can we cut off and keep it standing?"

Parvati chuckled, "No. At least one person needs to be working it. Can you keep this shape and motion on your own?"

"Yeah." Harry confirmed, "Not that hard really. Shaping it might have been a problem though. It's a fun exercise in control."

Padma smiled as the two carefully disengaged, "We've been learning how to do this ourselves since last summer. Our parents love muggle thrill rides and they came up with this idea. Our grandparents are probably rolling in their graves at how un-pureblood they act sometimes."

Parvati swam in front of Harry, who was a few feet from the spout, "Going up!" She yelled in glee and plunged her hands in. The current gently swept her upwards and brought her to the top, where she grabbed onto the railings and positioned herself. She lay straight and crossed her legs and crossed her arms over her chest, "GeroniMOOOOOO!" She screamed as she was flung downward and then went up and flying off the end of the slide and into the lake.

Tracey _squealed,_ "Oh! Oh! Oh! ME! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GO!"

Padma laughed, "Go ahead!" She began to giggle, "Maybe we should have made it a two-seater instead."

Tracey raced ahead of her with a massive grin on her face and practically flew up the spout, "I LOVE YOU GUUUUUUYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSS!" Padma stuck her hands in and followed the redhead.

Hermione was looking nervously at the slide, "I think I'll EEP!"

"No you won't!" Daphne got behind her and wrapped her in a hug, "Going up!"

"Ack! Daphne! NOOO! I'm afraid of heights!" Hermione feebly struggled as the two rode the spout up.

"Don't worry. I've got you." Daphne smiled lightly, "Besides, Harry's controlling this right now. You don't think he'd let any of us get hurt do you?"

Hermione nibbled her lip, "Oh fine." Her shrieks of both terror and then exhilaration as she went down before Daphne followed had quite a few people in stitches.

By now, Parvati and Tracey had returned and the Indian showed the Valkyrie how to insert her magic into the spell, "Girl, we have got to hang out more often." Parvati grinned at the redhead.

"Hell yeah!" Tracey smirked back, "This is the most fun I've had in _ages._ " She grinned, "Hell, maybe we could get the furnace over here to keep the water warm in winter too."

The two gradually grabbed control from Harry so that he could have a turn. He deadpanned at them, "To keep this entire area warm enough in the winter I'd be boiling the parts closest to me."

Parvati cringed, "Yeah, we'll pass on that. I don't look good boiled." Tracey let out an unladylike snort at that, and they started to giggle.

Finally, they took control away from Harry, he plunged his hands in and rode the current up. As he soared down and then through the air, he mused that he could get used to this whole water thing.

 **-]|[-**

The merriment eventually had to come to an end. They had gained two new friends which made them very happy, though it would be a long time before they were as close to the Indian girls as they were to each other. The girls were pretty well exhausted by now and they were practically falling over during dinner. Harry was the only one with energy to spare, and his close eye on the head table revealed Quirrel fidgeting and looking at his watch every couple minutes while Albus was nowhere in sight.

Albus _never_ missed dinner with the students. Sometimes he was missing for breakfast and lunch, but he was always there for dinner. Harry enjoyed his food – loaded with meats of course – and kept up small talk with the five girls. All of them had sat at the Ravenclaw table with Padma that night, and Harry was enjoying himself trying to keep the girls awake. But it was a losing battle. As soon as they were dismissed from the hall, they broke into separate groups. Harry, Hermione, and Parvati went to Gryffindor Tower, Tracey and Daphne to the Slytherin Dungeons, and Padma to the Ravenclaw Tower. Hermione was actually falling asleep on him as they made their way up the stairs and he ended up having to carry her and her into bed himself. He said goodnight to a sleepy Parvati and made his way into his own room.

There, he waited and rested, until at around eleven that night he jerked awake as the alert spell he put on Fluffy's door went off. He smirked and threw his Cloak on and raced out of the tower. He made his way down to the Forbidden Corridor and gently opened the door. There was a harp playing and Fluffy was out like a light. He made his way to the trapdoor and gently moved the huge dog's paw off it. He spelled it open and turned his arms into wings before quickly floating his way down.

He landed softly. Far too softly. He heard slithering and felt slimy-feeling vines start to encircle his legs, "Devil's Snare." He snorted and took a deep breath. He blasted an inferno of fire straight downward and it radiated outward from him. The murderous plant actually _shrieked_. It immediately let go and tried to get away, but it was a futile attempt. Most of the deadly strangulation plant burned to a crisp and what little of it survived was a twitchy mess. Harry didn't glance back as he went down a stone passageway. All he could hear apart from his footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. He idly hoped that whatever was holding the liquid back wouldn't decide to suddenly fail, otherwise he was probably going to have to make a _mess_.

His ears quirked. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead. As he stepped out of the passageway and into a brilliantly lit chamber, he realized that thousands of tiny keys with metallic wings were flying overhead. He raised an eyebrow at that realization, "They wouldn't really hide the bloody key right next to the door would they?" He strode across the room calmly and took note of the old-fashioned silver handle on the door. He narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze up, searching for a key in the same style. He almost facepalmed as he saw it fluttering about with a bent wing, "Are they bloody idiots? Is this a defense or an obstacle course?" He leapt up without even bothering to transform his arms into his wings and his hand closed snugly around the key.

He fell back down and to his utter bemusement, the other keys didn't react at all. He idly noticed broomsticks in the room and realized that he had probably bypassed this room entirely by simply leaping for the key. He shoved the key in the hole while muttering disparaging remarks about the people who put this whole thing together. It flew off as soon as the door opened, now looking incredibly beat up. Both of its wings were bent.

The next chamber was so dark that a normal human wouldn't have been able to see anything at all. Even he could barely make out the large shapes in the room. He took another step in and a brilliant light filled the chamber, revealing a giant chess board with a complete giant chess set. The towering figures had no faces.

He walked past them towards the white pieces; clearly McGonagall wanted the move-first advantage in this game. As he got close, the white pieces drew their arms and crossed their weapons, blocking his way to the door behind them. He snorted, "So I'm guessing I would have to play to make it past you?" The white king nodded, "Once again, is this a defense or an obstacle course?" His bemusement was rapidly dwindling. "Right, so here's a different idea-" His body warped as he let the beast within take over.

His massive form had grown and was far larger than the chess set before he even completed the transformation. With a single swipe of his massive arm, the white pieces were destroyed entirely. Clouds of grit and dust engulfed the room. Behind him, the furious black pieces turned on him, drawing their own weapons and diving for him. Sparks flew through the room as their stone blades and hammers and maces scraped uselessly off of his armor. He snorted, a plume of smoke escaping from his nostrils, " **Useless**." His spiked tail swung to the left and took out half of the black chessmen, before swinging right and finishing the destruction. He shrank and warped back into his human form, before continuing on.

He almost fell to his knees as he opened the door. An overpowering, horrid smell made his eyes water. His hand shot to his face and clogged his nostrils as best he could. Breathing through his mouth wasn't much better. He swore he could _taste_ the smell. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the troll lying uselessly face-down in front of him. Clearly Quirrel had left the lump on its head. It was bleeding freely from a nasty looking wound on its head. Harry hurried to escape the room and the stench. The troll had probably been in here for so long and it was such a small corridor that it smelled absolutely putrid.

The next room had nothing overtly dangerous in it. It was a small room with a small table in the middle of it. Seven differently sized bottles lay on it. His eye began to jerk. He took a step forward and immediately, purple, magical fire sprang up behind him. He didn't even twitch as the area heated up, completely unaffected. The doorway ahead was engulfed with pitch black flames.

Quite irritated at this point, he picked up the instructions to what was no doubt Snape's puzzle –that was really all he could call it at this point – and read.

 _Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

 _Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

 _One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

 _Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

 _Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

 _Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

 _Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

 _To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

 _First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

 _You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

 _Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

 _But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

 _Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

 _Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

 _Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

 _Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"How exactly is this supposed to defend a Philosopher's Stone if they _put the bloody means to get past the trap in the room?!_ " He let out a sigh in disgust. It was obvious from the fact that it was already half drained that the correct vial was the smallest one. Bloody typical. Wouldn't want multiple people getting through after all. All of these bloody things should have been filled with poison! Hell, the real key shouldn't have been in the room a couple chambers back! He ignored the puzzle entirely and strode past the table. He calmly put his hand into the black fire and smirked as he only felt pleasantly warm. His robes weren't burned either, so he was forced to assume that this fire was dedicated only to attacking living matter. Too bad using fire on him was less than useless. He strode right into it without a care in the world and came out on the other side. He immediately frowned as he took in the room. It was certainly big, but there were dozens of pillars holding the ceiling up. He wouldn't be able to fully transform in here. Not without the risk of bringing the ceiling down on them, and he had no idea where in the school they were. For all he knew they were right below the lake.

Quirrel was standing there with a half-smile, half grimace on his face, "Potter. I had wondered if I would be seeing you here."

Harry stepped forward calm as you please, "Professor." He said cordially, "Congratulations on conquering that rather silly stutter." He was pleased to Quirrel's eyebrow twitch, "Have to say though. The garlic really isn't working out for you. Run into a little fire recently?"

Quirrel's lips drew back in a snarl, "Foolish brat. I shall pay you back a thousand-fold for that incident."

Harry took in the rest of the room, keeping most of his attention on the man in the middle. His eyebrow raised at the sight of the Mirror of Erised. He decided to keep talking. Perhaps he would be able to find Voldemort, "So, I assume you bewitched that Bludger to try to murder me?" He let out a small bark of laughter as the man's eyebrow twitched again, "Not very intelligent. You had the rest of the school on high alert for a long time. Perhaps you wouldn't have had to drink the Unicorn Blood and curse yourself for eternity if you hadn't taken so bloody long getting here."

Quirrel laughed this time, "Yes, a moment of weakness on my own part. I knew you would cause problems for me right from the off so I decided to eliminate you. But it was no huge delay. These _trials_ were laughably easy to overcome. That thrice-damned Cerberus was the only hold up. It wouldn't have mattered whether I had attempted to take your life then or not. Hagrid was very reticent to share the secret until I put both a drink in one hand and a dragon egg in the other." He drew his wand lazily, "Your death would have merely been icing on the cake while I waited to find that egg. After all…who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrel?" He had a cruel, mocking smile on his face as he stared Harry down, "Alas, Severus was muttering a little counter-curse of his own. That allowed you the time to react to my Bludger, and made it weaker than it should have been."

Harry blinked in surprise. ' _Huh…who would have thought?_ '

Quirrel pointed his wand at Harry, "A wasted effort. After all, I shall be killing you tonight. You never should have come here, Harry Potter." He flicked his wand, and powerful ropes shot from them and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry, "How pitiful." He sneered, "That _great_ Harry Potter…so scared he can't even draw his wand to fight back."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the man in front of him. And then he looked down at the ropes before looking back at Quirrel with a look on his face that clearly said, ' _Mate, you're some kind of idiot aren't you?_ ' And then he flexed and threw his arms up. The sound of snapping and shredding rope rang through the chamber as Quirrel's spell failed spectacularly. The conjured fibers hit the floor and faded from existence.

Quirrel's eyes narrowed, "Those ropes should have been beyond the power of even a wizard's muscles."

"I punched out a troll and you're shocked over some silly rope?" Harry cracked his knuckles lazily.

For the first time, a look of surprise overcame Quirrel's face, "I'll admit, I thought the Hogwarts Rumor Mill was simply being overactive as usual." He looked quite interested and smiled evilly, "How interesting. Saint Potter performing illegal rituals."

Harry burst out into laughter, "Saint Potter?" He choked out in between laughter, "Mate, you haven't been paying too much attention have you?" He made no attempt to deny the other claim. Let the idiot think he was right.

" _Let me speak to him._ " All the merriment in Harry's posture evaporated at the raspy new voice. His blood started to boil as a look of fear overcame Quirrel.

"Master you are not strong enough for this!" He said in a small amount of panic.

" _I have strength enough… for this..._ " The voice whispered out once more. He watched as Quirrel reached upwards and started unwrapping his garlic-soaked turban. The purple cloth slowly fell away and he lifted it off, revealing his bald dome. And then he turned.

Where there should have been simple bald skin was a chalk-white, leathery, red-eyed face. It moved of its own accord, getting used to being in the light once more. Its eyes were slit and it had slits for nostrils, much like a snake. Harry snarled, "Voldemort."

" _Harry Potter…see what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor…_ "

Harry forced his rage down with herculean effort. His lazy smirk crossed his lips once more, "Yes, you do look quite _pathetic_."

The face snarled even as Quirrel stiffened in rage, " _I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrel drinking it for me in the forest..._ "

"Faithful?" Harry laughed, "Not quite what I would call his begging and his pleading." A look of surprise crossed Voldemort's face, "Oh yes, I heard you. For the 'Greatest Dark Lord in Centuries' you sure aren't very _secure_." Voldemort's face twisted into a grimace, "Not even a simple silencing spell to keep others from overhearing you. Had I been ten feet closer I would have seen Quirrel whining to you."

Voldemort fought down a retort of rage, " _You think you're clever,_ **boy**?" Voldemort laughed suddenly as Harry's eye twitched. He hadn't been called _that_ in a long, _long_ time, "A first year, taunting a superior opponent. I may be weakened, but my follower is very much alive and _able_."

"Yes, bravo. You took the entire school year to play some music for a giant dog. Congratulations." Harry clapped mockingly. The rage on Voldemort's face brought cheer to his heart, "But I can't help but notice, you still don't have what you want." He grinned, "Is the silly little mirror delaying you?"

Quirrel snarled and spoke before his master could, "Is the Stone in the mirror, Potter? Do I have to break it? I can see it!" He sounding quite deranged, "I can see it clearly! I am presenting it to my master!"

Voldemort had calmed during his servants little speech, " _Ah, but how you_ interest _me, Harry Potter._ " The being tried to pull off a smile, but it ended up being more of a grimace, " _You face me without fear, and have more power inside your body than most."_ Quirrel started to pace backwards, allowing Voldemort to circle Harry. Harry moved in time with his steps, keeping his senses sharp, " _For the Boy-Who-Lived to be performing such_ dangerous _rituals, and so young!_ " Voldemort sounded absolutely delighted, " _You could join me._ " He said in his best 'dark and seductive' tone, " _I could show you so much more…so much you haven't seen. There is no good nor evil…only_ power _and those too weak to seek it._ "

Harry snorted, "Coming from the parasite, that doesn't sound too convincing."

" _Don't be a fool._ " Voldemort snarled, " _You need only help me acquire the Stone, and you shall live as my apprentice. I value bravery, but I shall not offer again. There is a limit to my patience. Your parents were brave too. I killed your father first, and then your mother as she begged for your life. So too, shall you die. But not before I kill your_ spirit _. If you refuse me, I shall find each and every one of your little_ friends _and they shall beg for death as you watch helplessly._ "

All of the good humor vanished from Harry's face as his wand snapped into his hand. Quirrel's eyes widened as Voldemort forced their body to dive out of the way. A brilliantly bright lance of flame shot out of Harry's wand. The roar filled the room as it drilled straight through one of the stone pillars. Slag started dribbling, leaving a puddle of melted rock glowing on the stone floor.

Quirrel groaned in agony as all of the burns on his torso and arms were aggravated once again, " _Kill him!_ " Voldemort's high-pitched voice cracked through the air. Quirrel struggled to his feet whimpering as his decimated body protested every movement. Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise as Harry advanced on his downed opponent and unleashed a devastating punch right to the parasite's face. Quirrel's head jerked forward and smashed on the stone, bouncing up even as blood started gushing from the new wound. He lay flat and did not move again. Voldemort's face was frozen in pain and an imprint of his knuckles were actually burned onto the head-face. The skin around the mark was red and blistered.

Harry snorted in disappointment. Either Quirrel was actually as horrible as his classes made him out to be, or he was far too injured to actually fight. Harry's blood was boiling in his veins and the room was getting unbearably hot for anyone other than him. He stepped over Quirrel's corpse and moved to the Mirror. He wasn't about to leave empty handed and let this night go to waste.

He stepped in front of the Mirror and gazed into it. Curiously, it was his own reflection staring at him this time, and not the older version of him. But he wore the same calm, confident smirk that Harry always wore. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It was about the size of a tangerine. He winked and put it back into his pocket, and Harry felt his eyebrow twitch as a weight appeared in his real pocket.

Suddenly, he dove out of the way as a jet of green light shattered the Mirror of Erised forever. It's frame grew dull and gray and shards of glass rained on the floor. He snarled at Quirrel as Quirrel stood up. His trembling hand was holding a flask of some sort, and silvery liquid was dribbling from his mouth. Unicorn Blood.

The trembling steadied and then stopped entirely as his cracked forehead healed over with a steaming sound. He dropped the flask to the floor and gasped, "You'll pay for that you son of a bitch!" He snarled, and then he twitched, "Master?" He twitched again, "Master! What are you doing?" He gurgled, his eyes rolling into his skull, "Master, NOOOO!" Sickening cracks rang through the air as the joints in Quirrel's body reversed. His legs and arms snapped backwards a hundred and eighty degrees with gut-wrenching tearing sounds as the man screamed in agony. Blood started dripping in rivulets down his clothes and soaking them. The bones in his feet snapped and tore as they readjusted themselves for proper standing. Then, a wave of healing magic tore through his body to right all of the damage Voldemort had done to his servant.

Quirrel was now either dead or living on borrowed time. Blood leaked from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth and there was clearly no one home. The corpse turned around revealing Voldemort's snarling face once more. The blackened marks of his knuckles stood prominently, marring the already ugly mug. His reversed limbs were barely holding together due to the magic of the unicorn blood, and he was holding Quirrel's wand so tightly it was almost splintering, " _Why must I do EVERYTHING MYSELF?_ " Voldemort's high-pitched voice roared angrily, " _I WILL HAVE THAT STONE, BOY!_ "

He waved his wand, and over a dozen different curses flew from its tip in that one motion. Harry's eyes widened as he only recognized two of them, and one was the dancing-skeleton curse! Harry waved his own wand and a massive stone section of the floor rose in front of him. The curses all splashed uselessly against it, though a follow up **Bombarda** blew it apart in a massive explosion. Harry was forced to dive out of the way of the incoming shrapnel. He hit the floor and rolled to his feet, catching another exploding spell with one of his own. The two spells collided and a shockwave radiated out, blowing the two combatants back. Harry – the less experienced but decidedly fresher – recovered first and waved his wand, turning the stone floor into liquid. The liquid stone rose up in a mighty tsunami which Harry turned molten with fire. The wave of magma splashed uselessly against the stone shield Voldemort raised, taking a page out of Harry's book. It rose with some Runes already written on it, showcasing the skill of the Dark Lord. The magma solidified almost immediately, losing most of its heat through whatever Runes were written on Voldemort's defense.

Harry growled and took control of the rock again, forming it into a massive hand which tried to grab Voldemort. The Dark Lord didn't break a sweat, though he shattered the rock into dozens of pieces. He shot a ball of shadow at Harry which was easily dodged. But Voldemort had decades of experience on the younger mage and had realized that Harry favored his left when dodge-rolling. A piercing hex caught Harry right above his right hip and blew a Sickle-sized hole straight through him. Harry crashed to the floor clutching his wounded side with a pained, angry snarl. His green eyes slit vertically and he subconsciously transfigured his torso down to his lower legs into his draconic form. He still felt the pain of the wound, and he was forced to hide behind a series of stone walls as he tried to heal himself. He pressed his hand – which was glowing white – to the wound and let the magic to go work, while he also tried healing himself through transfiguration. Neither alone would have worked, as he wasn't the best at healing nor was even his prodigious talent with Transfiguration enough for Grandmaster work, but the two combined for a temporary bush fix. He would need it properly examined later on.

A second piercer from Voldemort – once the Dark Lord realized Harry had erected a series of barriers – drilled through the stone protection and smashed into Harry again. But this time, it splashed uselessly off of him as his armor protected his body. Another wave of explosions blew the wall to bits and Harry blew all of the grit away. Just in time too, as another wave of dark, arcane death was flying straight at him. Voldemort had yet again shot forward over a dozen dark spells with a simple swipe of his wand, and this time Harry didn't recognize any of them. Voldemort hadn't even reused any of the previous ones.

Harry decided not to take any chances. Voldemort had apparently read him like an open book once in this fight already and it had gotten him his first real injury in a very long time. He wouldn't put it past the Dark Lord to know a couple curses that ignored physical defenses outright rather than piercing them. He jumped straight up and stuck his transfigured hands directly into the stone. Hellfire and acid followed him up and he leapt around and got behind a pillar, sliding all the way to the floor as rubble clattered around him. The acid impacted the ceiling in front of the fire and ate away at it at a rapid pace. A blasting curse demolished the top of the pillar and sent huge chunks of stone crashing downward. Voldemort kept shooting spells through the pillar, but he was aiming for the top and was missing completely. Section by section, the pillar vanished in deafening booms as Voldemort worked his way down. Harry levitated the rubble pieces wandlessly and transfigured them into masses of spears, which he fired at Voldemort.

He tore his way out from behind his hiding place and watched as spear after spear sailed by the inhumanely-fast Dark Lord. He was moving so fast and fluidly despite the decimated body he occupied that he even blurred. Harry fell to a knee and punched the ground with transfiguration magic roiling in his fist. A wave rose in the solid stone and sped towards the Dark Lord. It radiated out from him, and caught the distracted Voldemort by surprise. Voldemort tripped as the rolling stone caught him in the foot, sending him crashing forward. A spear finally caught him in the shoulder drawing a cry of agony from the monster. It hit him so hard that he went corkscrewing through the air. A second caught him in the hip, returning the favor from earlier. A gout of fire hotter than Harry had fired before followed the wave of stone. Voldemort managed to right himself but stumbled to his knees. He used his strongest regular flame-freezing shield, but the inferno wasn't to be denied. Voldemort tried to run out of the flames immediately, but stone hands rose out of the floor and clamped down on his already battered thighs.

The roar of flames drowned out the demonic screech of rage and agony from the Dark Lord. When it finally petered out, Quirrel's flesh was blackened, cracked, and bleeding. His clothes were burned away revealing his decimated body. What bandages had managed to survive were fused with his flesh. The stone hands holding him had melted and revealed utterly destroyed thighs. Voldemort was somehow still stumbling about almost drunkenly. Magic was the only explanation for how the being was still standing, " _Damn you Harry POTTERRRRR!_ " He roared as Harry closed in on him. A cutting curse caught him in the pants and tore his pockets open. The Stone went clattering away as Voldemort's eyes zeroed on it hungrily.

And then Harry revealed his claws as he took a swipe at the demon in front of him. Voldemort howled in agony as Harry tore right through his host's shoulder and ripped his wand arm clean off. He wandlessly prepared a blasting curse in his other hand, but Harry tore that one off as well. Blackened, diseased blood splashed onto the stone to either side of them. His left hand would have crushed Voldemort's throat, if his throat wasn't actually Quirrel's spine. Harry wrapped his hand around Voldemort's neck and charged forward, slamming him _through_ another stone pillar before slamming him into yet another. Even if Quirrel wasn't dead before, he certainly was now and having his face smash on the stone was just an extra insult at this point. Voldemort snarled, baring his teeth at his nemesis. Smoke rose up from Harry's hand as Quirrel's already burned skin started to sizzle under his grip. Dark veins started to become apparent on the little healthy skin the man had as more and more of him blackened and started turning to ash.

Harry reared his right hand back with a bloodthirsty snarl on his face even as Voldemort cursed him, " _DAMN YOU HARRY POTTER! I WILL KILL YOU! IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO! I WILL KI_ -" Harry drove his hand forward, straight through Quirrel's spine and then chest, and pulverized the pillar behind the man. Whatever burning was afflicting the man accelerated rapidly as his body turned entirely into ash and crumbled.

Harry tore his blackened arm from the pillar, sending a shower of grit to the floor. He eyed the pile half with disgust and half with curiosity. Harry hadn't meant to burn Quirrel with his touch, and yet it had happened anyway. He turned and walked away towards the stone, before he heard what sounded like a whirlwind behind him. He turned and watched as Quirrel's ash rose up in a slow, tiny dervish and formed into a shadowy, dusty head. It was Voldemort, and he howled in fury as he shot forward. Harry opened his mouth and roared back, letting out a blaze of dragon fire. The vapory head aborted its suicidal charge as it felt itself become hot despite the fact that it should have been invulnerable in this form. Cursing his nemesis, Voldemort dodged the fire and raced out of the chamber. In the dead of night, not even the hurrying Albus Dumbledore would see Voldemort's spirit race out of the school.

Harry cut his flame and took a deep breath. He turned again and resumed his now pretty exhausted walk towards the stone. The day had caught up to him and when he felt his other half's instincts take hold of him, he was powerless to resist. He fell to his knees with a groan and he almost wretched. This urge was so much stronger than almost every one that came before it. Harry felt almost like a stranger in his own body as his mind turned draconic and he got to his feet. He watched detached as he picked up the Philosopher's Stone and stared at it like a prize. His head had started transforming, growing larger and draconic. He roared in victory as he brought the famed stone up to his gaping maw and swallowed it whole.

As soon as it was too late, Harry felt the dragon recede and he almost choked as he gained full control back. He struggled to get the stone down his throat and he was forced to transform further so the damn thing would actually slide down his enlarged tube. He felt the foreign object settle inside of him and pulse. The magic forced him to his knees again as a blood-red glow started shining from his chest. The damn thing started pulsing rapidly and Harry felt his magic start overcharging to the point that it had become painful. He let out an inhuman roar of agony as a red pillar of magic shot out of his body.

The chamber started to crumble as the magic made the room shake as though an earthquake ripping through it. With the damage from the battle already causing problems, the room started shaking itself apart. Rubble clattered downward from the ceiling and smashed over Harry. A pillar fell not feet in front of him, cracking the stone floor as it shattered into giant pieces. Another did the same behind him. More and more of the ceiling broke away and crashed downward, until Harry was completely buried.

 **-]|[-**

 **That's all folks!**

 **Yet another enormous chapter. For a moment there I actually thought this one wasn't going to break 20k. It seemed like it was going to be over a lot sooner, but then it kept getting added to and…well… over 28.5k now.**

 **I had a lot of fun with the Quirrelmort fight. That was not how it was going to end originally in my head, but that was how it ended up. Hope you all enjoyed it! You all got to see more of Harry's eventual battle style here. You'll note he used very few spells like charms or hexes. That's what basically every Harry does in fanfiction really. Here, he's focused heavily on using his vastly superior physical attributes, his dragon form and fire (which he will definitely be learning more of), and most importantly, his Transfiguration. Transfiguration is SUCH an underused ability in fanfiction, and it's really a shame. I rarely see it being used as his biggest strength. Usually it's just Charms and DADA, or perhaps Runes. Sure, he'll learn and use those eventually, but the goal was** _ **always**_ **for Transfiguration to have the limelight. At least in this fic, and at least for** _ **him**_ **.**

 **-]|[-**

 **Some things to address:**

 **Why did Hermione's Christmas get no details? I was honestly a bit stuck on what to write for her. None of it seemed** _ **important**_ **, and was just reinforcing stuff she had already told Harry about. It basically would have just been her being miserable as she was dragged this way and that in some new city her parents wanted to visit. The chapter was already long enough to the point I decided not to include it.**

 **Why was Harry able to acquire the Stone when he clearly wanted it? Simply, I changed the final protection. I felt that the original Canon protection was far too grey-area to really be acceptable. After all, Quirrel never wanted to** _ **use**_ **the stone. He wanted to give it to his master. As far as I was concerned, that was a wee bit too close to the edge to really be safe. In canon Harry just wanted to keep it from Quirrel, and that was enough for him to end up with it. Never mind the fact that it would have been far safer IN the mirror than in his bloody** _ **pocket**_ **.**

 **So Harry ate the Stone. He** _ **ate**_ **the fucking** _ **Stone**_ **. I was cackling like a madman when I originally thought that one up way before I even really started writing the story.**

 **Next chapter SHOULD be out without too huge of a delay. I'm firmly planted in the HP fandom currently, so I'm actually going to get started on the next chapter before I even post this one. I'm really eager to get to the Basilisk in book two because you KNOW I have to make the two giant beasts try to tear each other apart.**

 **Last time this third chapter just had one of my line breaks in it for a couple months as One Piece took over my attention. Hopefully I have enough HP reading material to keep my fancy for long enough to get past book two. (And hopefully Overwatch doesn't murder my writing time too often. :p )**

 **-]|[-**

 **Speaking of One Piece:**

 **No progress at all has been made on chapter six of** _ **Supernova**_ **. I haven't even begun writing it actually.**

 **However, after months of actual nothing, I finally got** _ **Crush**_ **! moving once again. It's just under 9k words at this point, though I can't give a date for the next installment since I petered out and switched to HP.**

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 **Here's something I don't usually do: I'm opening up suggestions for the Animagus forms the girls will eventually have. I could go for the obvious on some of them (Thunderbird for Daphne) but I was thinking that maybe there are better options I haven't personally heard about. The only restriction is that it MUST be some form of animal, mythical or otherwise. No aliens or demons or anything like that.**

 **And I still want spell suggestions people!**

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 **Though the first book isn't** _ **entirely**_ **finished, in all practicality it basically is. That puts it at around 82.6k words total** _ **including**_ **Author's Notes, which is just a couple thousand over the original Philosopher's Stone at just under 77k. And really, that's all I could have asked for. I REALLY did not want to have reached the end of the first book with something stupid like 300k words like some stories end up doing. I can't actually name one off the top of my head, but I'm sure it exists. People just get** _ **bored**_ **when everything is fluff and it doesn't feel like the plot is** _ **moving**_ **. Authors and readers alike.**

 **Cheers everyone!**

 **Primordial**


	4. You ate WHAT?

**GASP! Two updates in less than a month? Has my account been taken over?**

 **:p**

 **BIG thanks to the guest who caught one of my mistakes in the last chapter. It was replaced. (Third daughter to fourth daughter. I fucking forgot Astoria. How did I forget Astoria? She was right there!)**

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 **Guys, PLEASE stop leaving guest reviews if you have discussion points to actually talk about. I CAN'T RESPOND THAT WAY. And I'm not about to start filling author's notes with them. I make these damn things long enough already.  
**

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 **Also, if you want to know about chapter progress, check my profile. I try to keep it up to date. If something is abandoned, it will say so there. If no progress has been made, then the date at the bottom will be from a while ago. I keep telling people this, but I have no schedule everyone. I write when I feel like writing, if I have the time to do so.**

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 **I've been contemplating beginning a bit of a side-quel to this story. A GoT crossover. Not sure if anything will come of the idea, but I'm certainly having amusing thoughts of Harry being born in Westeros and turning into a tiny dragon and crawling all over his now-gobsmacked parents.**

 **I also had an idea for a crackish one-shot where my Harry gets summoned to the canon universe. I imagine I could have a barrel of laughs with that one.**

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Harry awoke with a groan, noticing that his body still hurt like the dickens. He felt sore and uncomfortable in his own skin. He noticed something golden floating above him, and he blinked rapidly to try to clear up his vision, scrunching his face up. Finally, Albus's face swam into view above him. They stared at each other for a moment, before Harry croaked, "Why do I feel like I had Hogwarts dropped on my head?"

Albus's mustache twitched, "Well Harry, I suppose having _Hogwarts dropped on your head_ will make you feel like you had Hogwarts dropped on your head."

Harry raised a hand up – wincing as he did so – and rubbed his face, "How long was I out?"

"It's been almost a week." Albus said, looking fairly disapproving, "You were in a magical coma until yesterday. Your young friends have been quite beside themselves."

Harry winced again, though not from pain this time. "Shit." He muttered, and thankfully Albus allowed him that one.

Not without smirking though, "Yes, I do believe young Miss Greengrass wants to electrocute you." Harry winced again, and finally took note of what looked like half of Honeydukes entire stock laying on a massive table nearby, "Ah yes… tokens from your admirers." The headmaster smiled lightly, knowing full well Harry wasn't a fan of sweets, "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrel is a complete secret. So…naturally, the whole school knows. Or they think they know, at any rate. I believe Messrs. Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

Harry began to laugh, and then began coughing as he clutched his chest in pain, "Gah, maybe it would have if I didn't bloody hurt everywhere."

"Yes…well… perhaps if you hadn't _eaten the_ _ **bloody**_ _Philosopher's Stone_ , you would have already been up and about." Dumbledore's gaze was piercing straight through him, "So now I am forced to ask you. What in the world possessed you to **EAT** an extremely powerful magical artifact?!"

Harry cringed at the anger he felt wafting off the headmaster. He scooted back and sat up with difficulty, "Possessed would probably be a good word for it." He raised his right hand up to his chin and jerked his head. A satisfying crack rang through the air, "You remember my home right? I told you that it was my instincts that led me there. Same thing here. It was the strongest urge I felt since that first one. It was only the second time since I first transformed that I couldn't control it. Part of it was exhaustion, I think."

Albus looked troubled, "I see." He sighed, "Well, there is nothing for it now. I tried to remove the Stone from you. It was the second thing I did after I got all the rubble off of you and got you into the Hospital Wing." He took off his glasses and gently cleaned them, "Unfortunately, there was no longer any Stone to remove. It has merged into you. Specifically into your heart. Unless, of course, it is only the most overt location and is blocking my scans."

Harry grimaced, "How bad is it?"

Albus leaned back in his chair, "Your magical control is utterly shot, for starters." He smiled, and not only a little vindictively. Even if his old friend Nicholas would had made the decision to destroy the Stone himself, he no longer had that choice, "Every single bit of progress you've made throughout the year has been undone. I'm uncertain if you shall even be capable of transforming properly for a while."

Harry cringed, and raised a hand in trepidation. He pointed it away, and tried to transform. Only instead of the limb transforming into his to-scale draconic limb, it instead transformed into one giant talon and speared straight through one of the candy boxes, "Fuck. Shit. FUCK!" He also couldn't get the limb back to normal.

"No Harry, tell me how you really feel." Dumbledore looked extremely amused as he hit a human part of Harry with the Animagus Reversal spell. Harry's arm shrank back to normal.

"This is not funny!" Harry glared at the man, "What the hell am I supposed to do if those bastard imps decide to attack my home while I'm like this!"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before rushing off to fight Voldemort!" Albus's voice was incredibly sharp, "There was no need for you to be down there! Voldemort could never have gotten the Stone and perhaps I could have captured his essence until I figured out how to destroy him for good!" Harry cringed back under the weight of the man's magic, and Albus settled down.

"How did I get it anyway?" Harry asked, "I'm actually not entirely sure. I didn't do anything myself."

"An oversight on my part. I am only human after all." Albus ran a hand down his face, "Originally I made it so that only someone who wanted to find the Stone – find it, not _use_ it – would be able to pull it from the mirror. I suspected that it was Voldemort looking to steal the Stone, but it was only after Quirrel started draining unicorns of their blood that my suspicion was confirmed. It also confirmed for me that Voldemort was possessing him. Since his servant would not have wanted to use the Stone, but rather present it to his master, I decided that it was far too risky to leave it like that. Intent based magic can be incredibly finicky. So I then tied the final protection to Fawkes instead." He said simply, "Only someone Fawkes approved of could have taken the Stone from the mirror. I neglected to consider the fact that you would be included in that very small number."

"Ah…" What else could Harry say to that.

"Regardless, the damage is done. This is an unprecedented situation you have found yourself in. Your body seemed to be cannibalizing itself from within, and building it back up at the same time. Not only that, but you were utterly impervious to almost all magic. We couldn't even _heal_ you properly. It was a wonder you didn't bleed out once that hole above your hip reopened. Even Fawkes's tears had no effect on that wound. And that was without even counting the hundreds of tons of stone burying you for at least a couple minutes. I'm utterly amazed that you didn't die right then and there." Harry flinched at every point, realizing quite starkly how close he had come to death, "It was a minor miracle that _some_ Potions still functioned on you. Were it not for the Blood Replenisher I am quite certain you would have died." He made sure Harry understood the gravity of the situation, "Luckily, on the fourth day whatever was happening inside of you appeared to complete itself, and the magical imperviousness disappeared. We were finally able to properly heal that wound and save your life. For a good two days you almost had less magic in you than Argus. You're only now back up to what I would consider a normal first year." Harry _cringed_ at what his headmaster was telling him. A quick check of his own body revealed that yes, he was practically as weak as a kitten.

"Grk."

"Indeed. Be thankful that you seem to be recovering. You have more magic now than you did when I checked on you a couple hours ago." Albus smirked at his charge, "Regardless, the worst seems to have passed, and you are, at the very least, still alive."

"I'm not too sure I'm going to still be alive when you let the girls in." Harry muttered, and Albus laughed.

"Yes, I may even stick around to watch them lambast you." The old man replied as he crossed his arms.

"So my control over basically everything is shot, I almost died, and I'm an idiot. Anything else?" Harry asked sardonically.

"Oh heavens no." Albus looked quite amused, "You _ate_ the Philosopher's Stone, and it has _merged_ with you. I haven't the foggiest on what that has done to you. Perhaps you will even stop growing older, and remain that age the rest of your life."

Harry flinched, "Right, did anything _good_ happen?"

"Well, you stopped a Dark Lord from coming back to true life. There's that I suppose. Not that I couldn't have done that myself while he was wasting away in front of the Mirror, but I digress." Harry gave him a dirty look, and he chuckled humorlessly, "Time will tell with this Harry. You best hope beyond hope that any negative effects are only temporary, and that there are actually _positive_ effects to it." He clapped his hands, "Now, I would like to see your memory of the events of that night. I was able to infer quite a bit if I do say so myself, but it isn't quite the same as seeing it." He snapped his fingers and a large, runic bowl appeared in his hand. He gently placed it down on a desk next to them, "Please concentrate on the events so that I may extract them." He placed his wand to Harry's temple, and slowly extracted a long, silvery strand of memories. He placed them into the bowl, "Shall we?"

They both dipped their fingers into the bowl and vanished with a sucking sound. A few minutes later, they were both back and looking contemplative. Albus was stoking his beard with a light smile, "I am surprised to see your mother's protection is still functioning. That was why your touch burned Quirrel, if you didn't know. A being so full of hate could never touch someone so protected by love."

"I _had_ been wondering about that." Harry mumbled, "How did I do by the way?" he asked the headmaster.

Albus snorted, "Terribly. You were full of tells. Had Voldemort been at full power or even had his body not been practically falling apart, you would have lost badly." Harry winced, "You used one spell throughout the fight and that was only to counter one of his. You used no magical shields, and had Voldemort been in his right mind he would have exploited that mercilessly. He actually performed far, _far_ worse than he used to. He seemed to have no strategy beyond brute force. Quite a disappointing performance from him if I am honest. He almost seemed deranged really, but I digress. Your physical shields functioned, but they also blocked your vision. That can work when you reinforce them magically or runically the way he blocked your magma, but it'll generally prove a detriment against skilled opponents if used as simply as you did. There are plenty of spells that outright ignore regular physical barriers, which I am guessing you realized in the fight. Had you not armored up as it were, he would have pierced your heart while you were trying to heal yourself. Your tendency to dodge left was easily read and that got you your major wound. You relied almost entirely on your superior strength and speed to last you through that fight."

"No, tell me how you really feel." Harry shot back in annoyance.

Albus laughed and decided to ease up on the lad, "Despite that, I was quite pleased to see another user of Battle Transfiguration. All of it unimaginative and basic of course, but you are a first year." He patted Harry on the shoulder, "You're young. You'll learn."

Harry chuckled ruefully, "I don't suppose I could get some pointers?"

Albus laughed, "Perhaps, young Harry. Not now, but perhaps. Keep working on it yourself for now. I would also keep working on your fire based magic. They have far more impact than they rightly should. I assume it's due to your other half."

Harry threw the covers off of him and stood up, stretching. "Perhaps my wand as well."

"Indeed! Oh, before I forget." Albus grabbed a small box and opened it. Harry's vambrace was sitting snugly in it, "We were forced to remove this from you. It was draining what little of your magic that wasn't destroying you from within faster than you were replacing it." Harry blinked in shock and looked down at his arm. He hadn't even realized that he hadn't been wearing it. He grabbed it and made to put it back on, but Albus stopped him, "Have you forgotten the power requirements?" The old man asked dryly, "You'll have to wait at least a day to put that back on. I'm guessing that your magic will be at a decent point by then, from the rate at which it's been recovering."

"Right. Thank you sir!" He put the vambrace back into the box and tapped in, and then a small rune on his wrist. The box vanished. Harry stretched, and tried to transform again, this time aiming just for an outer layer of scales on his right arm. Instead, his entire arm transformed into a giant wing and almost wrenched his arm out of socket at the shoulder due to the weight, "Gah!"

"We'll have to work on that." Albus sighed, "As much as this punishment for your actions amuses me, we cannot rightly have you completely out of commission for too long." He hit him with the Reversal once more, and Harry straightened up, rolling his shoulder with a grimace, "The leaving feast is tomorrow night. The day after you shall take the train back to London, and I shall have a portkey bring you back here once you can get hidden. Hopefully the three days I can stay with you shall bring you back up to par, otherwise you may be in trouble." He straightened his glasses, "And of course, we shall be performing tests to see what other issues your idiocy has caused." He said sternly. He snapped his fingers and the runic bowl disappeared, after he returned Harry's memory to him. "I don't believe I _need_ to say this, but for now I would keep the ending of your little escapade to yourself. Only the two of us know. Not even Madam Pomfrey is privy to that information."

"Yes sir." Harry said, feeling hopeful that he would be back to a hundred percent soon enough, "What the hell am I going to tell the girls?" He mumbled to himself.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. But with that…" Albus stood at the door to the Hospital Wing with a smirk on his face, "I leave you to your doom."

He exited and not five seconds later, Hermione's bushy head popped through and saw Harry standing there, "HARRY!" She _screamed_ and tackled him back onto the bed. They both crashed down with her on top of him and he already felt her soaking through his shirt, "You idiot!" She pounded her little fists on his chest, "You big IDIOT!"

He sat up while hugging her and rubbed her back gently. He eyed the other four girls who walked in warily. While Padma and Parvati had red-rimmed eyes, they didn't really know him well yet nor were they as close to him as the other three. No, it was Daphne and Tracey he was really worried about. Tracey's face was red and she was clearly furious from the way she was eyeing him, and Daphne's face may as well have been cut from a solid block of ice. "We were _supposed_ to be angry with him, Hermione." Tracey said airily, her tone even.

Hermione sniffed, and got off of him, settling next to him and shooting him a watery glare. Tracey took a step forward, and her hand cracked right into his cheek. His head jerked to the side from the impact and the loud clapping sound, "I deserved that." Harry winced, rubbing his face.

Daphne didn't try to smack him like Tracey did, but her voice was positively arctic, "Start talking." Harry winced again.

He sighed and fell back, staring at the ceiling with his arms out to the side, "I'm sorry." He said heavily, "I fucked up." He continued, "Real bad."

"You think?!" Tracey hissed at him, "You fucked up? That's it?!"

Daphne was looking at him like he was Malfoy, and he felt like complete scum, "Three days Harry! Three days where we didn't know if you would even survive!" Her glare intensified, "And you promised us that you wouldn't go down there!"

Harry winced again, but before he could say anything else, Hermione's quiet voice quivered next to him, "Why didn't you bring us with you? We could have helped!" Her quiet reproach may have been worse than Tracey's fury.

Harry sighed, "You mean beside the fact that you girls were so exhausted that day that I had to carry you into bed?" Their pursed lips told him that probably hadn't been the right thing to say, "You don't know what happened down there." He said finally, "And while I can tell you most of it, I can't tell you _all_ of it. I've been sworn to secrecy, unfortunately. Even if I had brought you with me, only one of you would have been able to go with me into the final chamber."

They all sat down, staring at him furiously. "Can't tell us?" Tracey ground out.

"Yeah, unfortunately." He replied humorlessly, "I know that isn't what you want to hear, but all I can say to reassure you is that I'll be able to tell you eventually."

They all glared at him, "You damn well better! Now start talking!" Tracey almost snarled.

He chuckled lightly, "Well, I went to Cerby's room-"

"Cerby?" Parvati tasted the word in her mouth quizzically, "Sorry, can you fill us in?" The girls had been in a right panic at Harry's condition, so while they were getting to know the twins they had filled them in on some of their adventures this year. The Cerberus had slipped their mind since they were more worried about what happened _beyond_ it.

"Oh that's right. You weren't with us." Daphne said, sighing and wilting near them, "The third floor corridor – you know, the one Dumbledore said to avoid at all costs – had a Cerberus inside. I'm surprised you didn't at least hear rumors about it Parvati."

The twins choked, "A Cerberus?" Padma gasped out.

Tracey chuckled humorlessly, "This idiot here wanted to play with it. He's really powerful physically. And by that I mean that the Cerberus was afraid of _him_." The twins stared at him wide eyed, and then smiled lightly when he flexed.

"Stop fooling around!" Daphne's voice cracked like a whip, "You're not out of the doghouse yet!"

"No, I suppose I'm not." Harry said lightly, "Anyway, I went to Cerby's room and a harp was playing. Turns out that Cerberi fall right asleep if you play them any music." The girls goggled at him, "Yeah…" He said dryly. "I lifted his paw off the trapdoor, and jumped down. Landed on Devil's Snare." Hermione choked, "Was a massive one too. Covered the entire chamber. Wasn't much left of it after a little fire." And there was that smirk the girls loved. Too bad they were still furious with him. "Frankly, the traps down there sucked. Next room had flying keys which you had to catch to fit a door, and yes the real key was in the bloody room." Their looks turned deadpan, "And because I didn't touch the brooms provided for the task, I think I bypassed that protection entirely."

"…What?" Tracey asked flatly, "Was this a huge defense or an obstacle course?!"

"Thank you! That's what I said!" Harry said, pointing at her triumphantly. To his happiness, he managed to get a few quirked lips, "Anyway, the next room was a giant chess set, that you had to play across as one of the pieces. I just smashed them all instead."

Daphne was looking less mad now and more confused, "What in the world? Weren't they trying to hide the Philosopher's Stone down there? Even a regular first year could have gotten by that."

"I told you they sucked." Harry deadpanned, "Only the first and last traps were actually traps. After the chess set was a troll, which was already knocked out. Most dangerous room so far. The smell almost killed me." He winced, wrinkling his nose.

Hermione reached over and pinched his nose angrily, "Not. FUNNY!"

Harry winced and jerked his head out of her grip, "Not a joke. I almost got flat out knocked out by the smell." He rubbed his red nose, "It was a very tiny hallway and that thing had been down there for months. It smelled _putrid_."

"Ugh, please stop." Parvati wrinkled her nose in displeasure.

"Anyway, the next room was the second to last. The moment I walked in, purple fire sprang up behind me and black fire in front. There were seven bottles on a table. One to move you back, one to move you forward. Three were poison and two were nettle wine. And of course, instructions on how to figure out how to get past it were on the table, instead of doing the smart thing and filling all seven with poison and keeping the real key with you."

"A logic puzzle?" Hermione asked, "I guess that would slow people down, at least."

Daphne held her face in her hands, "You weren't kidding when you said these traps were horrible." Her voice was muffled. She rubbed them up and down and then deadpanned at him, "How long did it stall you for?"

"Quite." Harry said, "And it didn't. The right bottle was – quite typically – the smallest. Wouldn't want too many people going through at once, right?" He deadpanned right back. All five girls facepalmed, "Damn thing was half full. The person who went down first had already drank some."

"I see." Hermione said, "So there would have been enough for you and one of us. That's why it wouldn't have mattered if we all had gone down with you."

"Nope. The bottle was only this big." He held his thumb and his finger apart a tiny distance, and their eyes widened, "I didn't even bother with the stupid thing. I AM fire."

"Please tell me you at least _tested_ that before you tried walking through it." Tracey pleaded with him, and sighed in relief when he nodded, "Well, you aren't hopeless at least." She muttered.

He snorted, "So I go through, and who do I see but Professor fucking Quirrel."

"WHAT?!" They all straightened up, "You're joking!" Tracey shouted at him with wide eyes.

"Nope, apparently p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrel was just an act. Worked out brilliantly actually. I didn't suspect him at all until finals." Perhaps he shouldn't have said that.

All of their eyes narrowed, "Finals?"

He winced internally, "He was the one drinking the unicorn blood, and when I went into the room to have our tests I could smell him completely slathered in burn paste." He shrugged helplessly.

"So you knew, and you didn't tell us?!" Hermione burst out angrily. Daphne and Tracey looked equally furious, while the twins merely stared at him coolly.

"Again, what good would it have done?" He was a little irritated himself now, "Only one of you would have been able to follow me in, and even Daphne would have only turned into a hostage."

"You're good Harry." Daphne hissed out through gritted teeth, "But you're treating us as if we can't even pretend to handle ourselves! You've never beaten me in a duel!"

They stared at each other, one passively, the other furiously. And then Daphne blinked, and her eyes bulged in shock as she found Harry's hand centimeters from wrapping around her throat. The other girls jumped backwards in shock. Harry and Daphne had been at least seven feet apart. They hadn't even seen him _move_. She swallowed in shock as Harry backed away and sat down, "Yes, I've never beat you in a _duel_." Harry said, "Because we're _practicing_. We're helping each other get _better_ and learning new spells, and how to use them. Constantly getting annihilated wouldn't help anyone! A _fight_ is different than a _duel_." He looked at his three best friends seriously, and idly looked at the twins as well, "What I just did was the only thing that saved me down there, according to the Headmaster. The only reason I was able to last long enough to beat him was because of my strength and speed! Daphne was the only one who could have done something similar, but only if there was no way to counter her elemental form!"

Daphne was looking down at the floor morosely now, "Have you even been trying in our duels?"

"Of course I have!" Harry said, "It was only because of our duels that my Battle Transfiguration was good enough to win the day. It was really, really helpful." He got up and lifted her head, smiling at her, "Don't look so down Daphne. I'm sure you could beat anyone in our year but me, and you could probably even beat most second and third years." She smiled, though it didn't really reach her eyes, "If it really bothers you, I'll start going harder on you all in our duels."

"I'd like that." She said quietly, "I think I was getting a bad case of the ego myself."

Tracey finally broke and hugged him, "Please…just don't do something so stupid again! At least _tell_ us so we can get help, even if we can't come with you!" She turned watery doe eyes up at him, and he almost melted.

"I'll try." He said, happy to be hugging her once more. Daphne and especially Hermione couldn't contain themselves either. Hermione leapt forward and hugged his back, while Daphne hugged both him and Tracey.

"No! No trying! Please Harry! We're your friends!" Hermione mumbled into his back, squeezing tighter, "We couldn't bear it if you were hurt this badly again…or worse." He felt his back start to soak again.

He sighed, "I can't promise I'll bring you with me, but I'll at least tell you next time." He chuckled suddenly, "You can probably figure out by now that I don't turn away just because something is dangerous."

Tracey grumbled, "Fine. Better than nothing."

"I'm really confused though." Daphne said, "You beat Quirrel. Why were you so bad off if you won?"

"Well…not…exactly." He winced, and tried to weigh on what he should tell them. His uncharacteristic waffling alarmed the three who knew him best, "I actually only took one injury in the fight. Unfortunately, the thing you girls probably want to know the most is the one thing I can't tell you." Harry said, "Like I said, I've been sworn to secrecy for now."

Hermione grumbled, "Well, tell us about the fight then."

"The fight came a bit after. We talked and taunted each other for a bit first." He was trying to come up with a delicate way to put this, but gave it up as a bad job and figured that maybe just yanking the band aid was necessary, "It's kind of funny, you know." He waffled a bit, "I'm sure the Weasley twins would have been utterly horrified if they knew this."

"Knew what?" Padma asked curiously, and the other girls all sat with them in front of him.

"You remember during the winter? How they were enchanting snowballs to bounce off of Quirrel's turban?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Tracey asked, "I thought it was funny myself." She giggled.

There really was no easy way to say it, "Quirrel was possessed." He deadpanned, "Voldemort's face was sticking out of the back of his head." Chokes all around, "That was why he needed the unicorn blood. His body was literally tearing itself to pieces because of his little parasite." All five girls paled as far as their skin-tones would allow.

"You-Know-Who?!" The twins squeaked shrilly.

"Don't do that." He stared them down, "Say the damn name." They stared at him without comprehension. He grumbled, "We'll work on it. Anyway! Quirrel's body was falling apart from when I incinerated him as well as the damage from the possession. He was far weaker than he should have been. He drank a final bit of unicorn blood he managed to get into a flask before I forced him to flee, and then Voldemort possessed him entirely. So my fight wasn't exactly with Quirrel, but with – according to Dumbledore – a vastly weakened, deranged, and uncharacteristically _stupid_ Voldemort."

"AND YOU SURVIVED?!" Daphne screamed shrilly. The subject of the Dark Lord _really_ scared the hell out of her.

"See, this is what I mean. If you had gone down there you would have gone to pieces when he took his turban off, if you're acting like this just from hearing the story." She looked away in shame, "Even as weak as he was, every swipe of his wand shot a dozen spells at once. It was only my Transfiguration and my speed that kept me in the fight. Eventually I managed to take him out with transfigured spears and then…" He stopped, "Well, there's no pleasant way to say this. I immolated him."

Padma's voice was more than a little shaky, "I don't understand. You-Know-Who is dead isn't he?!"

Harry looked at her sadly, "Sorry Padma, but I'll tell you exactly what I told these three. Show me a body." She looked stricken, "All they found that night was a robe saturated with evil magic and a wand." He rubbed his face, "A wand which later disappeared from where it was kept. No, that son of a bitch is still alive. He's weak. Terribly weak. He's even less than a wraith now. But somehow that damn cockroach managed to survive." He sat back down heavily, "But for now, he's beaten. Unfortunately, after I won, my stupidity almost got me killed. And I'm really, truly sorry about that." He moved over to them and gathered them into a group hug.

"You better be!" Daphne mumbled into his shoulder, "You sure you can't tell us?"

"Someday." He said, "Someday."

 **-]|[-**

The next day Harry felt back to normal. Well, his body felt normal at any rate. His magic churned and writhed chaotically inside of him now that he was back to full strength. There was none of the control he had fought for since they had discovered his cavern. Still, he felt well enough that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have been able to keep him there even if she wanted to. But before he left, Hagrid came by to see him, sobbing rather hysterically, "It's – all – my – ruddy – fault!" The grown man bawled, "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a muggle!"

Harry snickered, "Hagrid I don't think you could even fit in a car." The hairy man choked up, "And if you want to be technical, I only took a minor injury down there from the asshole." A hole in his side that he managed to partially heal wasn't too bad, right?

"Wha…? But yeh were in a coma!" Hagrid blustered and waved his giant arms up and down.

"Not my greatest moment." Harry deadpanned, "Let's not talk about it." He waved his hand, "And either way, it was Voldemort. He would have figured it out eventually anyway."

"Don' say tha-" Hagrid started to go wide eyed, but Harry cut him right off.

"VOLDEMORT!" He yelled, shocking Hagrid rigid and making his tears freeze, "I don't fear him or his stupid made-up name. Gryffindor up man!" He lightly punched Hagrid in the arm. Harry surprised himself when he was forced to rub it.

Hagrid let out a watery chuckle, "Heh, yer a good kid Harry." He took something out of his massive pocket, "Got a gift fer yeh." He took out a handsome, leather-covered book. "Had the day off a few days ago ter fix this up. Course, Dumbledore should have sacked me instead." Harry took in from him and his face lit up at seeing dozens of wizarding pictures of his parents.

"Thank you Hagrid." He grinned, leafing through the pages. Later that night, he joined the rest of the school for the leaving feast. It irritated him that he would only have Hermione and Parvati with him tonight, since he had gotten used to having at least Daphne and Tracey along too, but he could deal with it for a night. Brilliant smiles lit up their faces as he made his way down the tables, and they scooted up so he could get a seat in between them. "Ladies." He said with a smile as he sat.

"How are you feeling Harry?" Hermione his arm a squeeze anxiously.

"Physically, I feel fine." Harry said, "Maybe even more than fine, actually." He grinned, but it became strained, "Magic still feels like there are three separate tornados having a duel inside me though."

Parvati winced, "That's rough. How are you going to get back up to speed for second year? And I still want to know what in the world you did that could make your magic _that_ chaotic."

"I'll figure something out." Harry said, more confidently than he actually felt. Of course, he did not answer the second part of that statement. No doubt he'd be getting badgered about that until he finally told them. He started piling on his normal masses of food, though with much less ease since when he tried to levitate one of the plates towards him he embedded it into the ceiling. And then it lit on fire, just to irritate him.

"Oh my, you weren't kidding!" Hermione looked at the piece of chicken perched precariously on one of the arches on the ceiling. She giggled, "You better get better quick Harry! Otherwise I'm sure Malfoy will enjoy lording this over you!"

Harry twitched, pausing as he accepted a plate with his hands, "Will that be before or after I rip him in half?" Noses in earshot wrinkled. He smirked in victory. The rest of the feast continued without much talk of any interest. Of course, there was the rewarding of the house cup to go through, but Harry and Hermione didn't actually care about that.

Parvati got excited for it and was celebrating their victory with the rest of the house, until she noticed Harry and Hermione not even paying attention. Instead, they were discussing Charms. "What's wrong guys? Aren't you excited that we won? Look at the egg on Malfoy's face!"

Harry and Hermione leaned back to take a look at Malfoy, and he indeed looked as if something had crawled into his nose and died. Tracey and Daphne smirked at them and raised their goblets for a toast. The two grinned and raised theirs in turn, before laughing a bit at Parvati, "Not really." Harry shrugged, "I never cared at all about this house cup business."

"Really?" She looked surprised, "But why? It's an honor isn't it?"

Hermione shrugged, "Well, seeing as how we – and by 'we' I mean our original group of four – think the house system as a whole is stupid and worthless, we can't really be bothered."

Harry picked up, "Besides, what do we even win with this? McGonagall gets a shiny trophy for her office for the year. The students don't actually get anything other than these silly banners for the night. They don't even stay up. I guess we get to make fun of Malfoy, but we do that anyway." Parvati still looked a little dubious, but accepted that explanation.

The next day they were due to leave the school, and spent the previous night packing. When they arrived in the hall they met up with the two Slytherins and one Ravenclaw, who were already crowding a massive board with their class rankings on it. They had gotten their individual scores the previous night of course, and they had all passed by a long shot. Hermione smiled brilliantly when she saw herself at the top of the top list, denoting her as first place. Daphne was next, followed by Parvati, Tracey, and Padma. Harry had a good chuckle over that, wondering how the adventurous one had beat out the studious one. He brought up the rear of their group in sixth.

Tracey punched him looking irritated, "Jerk. We all know you should have been number one. Your practicals smoked… well," She smirked at him, "-they used to smoke ours."

He shrugged, "I told you I didn't care for that. I could have earned more points on the written exams, but I couldn't be bothered." He searched the board and smirked, "Hah, dear old Draco was in tenth. I'm sure daddy will be… _happy_ …with that."

Daphne smiled dreamily, "Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation." She sighed exaggeratedly with her hands clasped together. They all began to laugh and continued out the double doors onto the grounds. Harry of course, had been designated the luggage rack. He had all six of their trunks over his right shoulder, and he was fairly sure they had actually packed bricks this time to get back at him for the incident. Months ago, they all would have goggled at that. Now it wasn't even a blip on Hermione, Daphne, and Tracey's radars. Padma and Parvati only giggled after a momentary shock. Padma knew that her trunk at the very least was a stone or three. Pinned to each was a note declaring that magic was not to be used outside of school unless you were over the age of seventeen. Said orders would, of course, be disregarded by a majority of them.

"I'm so glad I can stay with you and Tracey." Hermione hugged Daphne for roughly the millionth time that week, "I would have gone crazy if I had to stay with my parents for months and therefore forced to follow that stupid law."

Daphne smirked, "Not a problem Hermione. We wouldn't just leave you hanging."

Padma smiled brilliantly, "You all will write, won't you?" She and Parvati were eager to get together with them over the break.

"Of course!" Tracey declared for herself, Daphne, and Hermione.

"Maybe." Harry said as he scratched his chin.

Daphne laughed all of a sudden as the twins started looking sad and hurt, "That's right!" She turned to the twins, "We don't know why, but most owls outright refuse to come near Harry. It's really strange. I've never seen him get a letter that wasn't hand-delivered."

The twins frowned, before Padma brightened up, "Well, you could try the post office in Diagon to send us letters. Not sure how we could get them to you though."

Harry smiled, "Not a bad idea. I'll try that." With that, Hagrid led them over to the same rickety old boats that had brought them across the lake on their first night here, and if anything they looked even worse in the daylight. The train ride went by without much incident. Not even Malfoy showed up to ruin the ride. Then they were let off the train, and a wizened old guard let them out onto King's Cross in twos and threes, so they wouldn't shock the muggles. He hugged the girls goodbye, knowing he would miss them. What he would certainly _not_ miss, was the young redheaded girl who he could hear squeaking, "Oh Merlin, look mom! It's Harry Po-" and then he stopped paying attention and pretended to go out to call a taxi. In reality, once he was sure the girls weren't looking at him any longer – being busy with finding their own families – he ducked into an alley. With no one looking, he took a small sock out of his pocket – and it amused him greatly that Albus still was on about socks – and sighed, "Activate." It glowed blue, and then a hook seemed to stab into his navel and drag him upward. The world disappeared around him in a whirling maelstrom of color.

 **-]|[-**

"Hello Harry." When Harry slammed into the stone floors of Hogwarts with a groan, his mentor's voice was the first thing he heard. Albus was calmly sipping at a cup of tea, with another prepared for Harry, "I presume you were not seen?"

"You did that on purpose." He groaned and hauled himself up. He sat and took a sip from his own cup, "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Albus's light smirk was not at all hidden by his beard, "Now, there are two possible ways that we can bring you back up to par. The first is the slower way of course, where I work with you in baby steps for three days and then you pray you can at least transform by the end of it. I imagine we shall both be quite bored."

"Pass." Harry deadpanned.

Albus's smirk widened, "The second is more entertaining. For me, of course." He said lightly, "You try to transform, and I fix you until you get it right. The rest shall – hopefully – follow. I trust the room has been made big enough. I don't know how much you've grown since I last saw you."

"It's big enough." Harry said with a hiss of breath, "Let's not waste time then, shall we?" He drained his cup and made his way out a fair way into the room. He focused on his arm, and much like in the Hospital Wing, his massive, unwanted limb almost ripped his arm off his shoulder. "FUUUUUCK!"

 **-]|[-**

"Daphne! Tracey!" Hermione yelled ecstatically as she crashed down into the foyer of the Greengrass mansion. She went forward to give her two friends a hug, and promptly fell on her face as the dizziness reestablished its grip on her, "Owie…"

"What are we going to do with her?" Tracey asked in bemusement as she gathered Hermione up for a hug.

"Now, now girls." Alexander was quietly snickering to himself despite his words. He had apparated down to Hermione's house with a portkey to pick her up. Hermione wished it could have been shorter, but she had needed to spend _some_ time with her own parents. It had been three weeks since she had seen her friends, "If I remember correctly, the first time the two of you used portkeys you-"

His two girls glared daggers at him, "Not. One. Word."

He held up his hands in mock surrender as Hermione began to giggle, "Alright, alright." He smiled down at Hermione, "And welcome once again Hermione. Daphne and Tracey will show you to your room. Or you can all bunk. Lord knows Daphne's bed could probably fit ten of you." He chuckled and went to go greet his wife, knowing that the kids probably wanted to be alone now.

Hermione latched onto her friends in the tightest hug she'd ever given. "Ack!" Tracey croaked.

"Hermione! Air!" The currently silver-haired Daphne gasped.

Hermione ignored them for a moment, before releasing her death grip on them, "I missed you two so much!"

"I'm guessing you had fun with your parents then?" Hermione glared dagger at Tracey, "Sorry, couldn't resist." The redhead snickered and held her hands up in surrender much like Daphne's father had, "Come on! Let's go for a swim and then we can start practicing!"

Hours later the girls were simply floating in the pool under the sun's rays. They had actual bikinis on now, rather than one-piece suits, since they were on private property. Hermione would have said they were tanning, but seeing as Daphne pretty much stayed porcelain year-round and Tracey was liberally lathered in wizarding sunblock so as to not turn into a cooked lobster, it would be more appropriate to say _she_ was tanning. She had already picked up some decent color with the wizarding version of tanning lotion. "Oh, I never asked! Have any of you heard from Harry or the twins?"

That brought Daphne and Tracey's mood crashing down, "Parvati and Padma yes. They're currently vacationing on the Patil's summer home in India. They've sent a couple photo cards. I'm actually rather jealous, to be honest." Daphne pouted outrageously.

"That sounds fun." Hermione smiled, "They sent me a couple as well. What about Harry though? He said he would write didn't he? Even if we can't reach him he can reach us with the public owls!"

"That jerk." Tracey mumbled, "I thought we were supposed to be friends!"

Daphne harrumphed, "We haven't gotten a single thing either."

Hermione frowned in worry, "Maybe he's having a harder time than he thought he would with his magic?" She suggested pragmatically, "We know he hates being mobbed. Maybe he's worried he could fry the Alley if his magic isn't under control."

"Hmmm." Surprisingly, neither of the two Slytherins had considered that, "Maybe you're right." Daphne said.

"Gah! I miss him!" Tracey yelled angrily, "Let's all take a picture and send him a letter! Maybe it won't work, but we have to at least try, right?" She jumped off her floating bed and ran off into the house to get a camera before the other two could even open their mouths. They merely looked at one another and giggled. Minutes later, they had snapped a moving photo of them all laying in the pool and waving, before they kissed their hands and blew it towards the camera.

 _Hey Harry!_

 _We've missed you these past few weeks! How come you haven't written? You said you would give the public post a try. Magic still acting wonky? We definitely need to meet up during the summer, so let us know when we'll be able to find you!_

 _Hope to see you soon!_

 _Daphne, Tracey, Hermione_

They wrote the short note and attached it to the Greengrass Owl's leg. Surprisingly, when they told the owl Harry's name and watched as the Post Magic gave it a target, the owl did not freak out and drop the letter. It took to wing under their brilliant smiles, and raced out of the property. None of them noticed the letter momentarily glow a light red as soon as it was outside of the ward boundary. Neither would any of them know the letter never reached Harry. Less than a day into her flight, Eir was intercepted by a rather determined individual.

 **-]|[-**

July passed quickly and opened into August. The girls had grown increasingly sad and disheartened that their best friend had seemingly forgotten them. Padma and Parvati joined them in the last few days of the month, and the nice and tidy Greengrass pool had quickly turned into a water park under the twin's hands. Cassie and Alexander especially were utterly delighted with the new magic, and had turned their already gigantic pool into more of a man-made lake. Muggles would have taken weeks to do what Selena had done in minutes.

The twins it turned out, were late bloomers in terms of family magic. Elemental magic the likes of Daphne and the Greengrass family's lightning also ran in the Patil family. Unlike the lightning all of Daphne's family could command, Patils were not guaranteed to be elementals, nor was the element always the same. Parvati had been utterly delighted to find herself one with the water, and Padma had started learning to control the wind. When they had learned of their new abilities, Hermione had deadpanned that all they needed to do was combine with Daphne and they would have a storm goddess. Their smirks were not at all reassuring.

Still, the merriment was very much strained by the elephant in the room. The elephant being the lack of Harry. They had gone through the disheartened stage into the sad and moping stage, then blazed through the furious anger stage at him ignoring them, and now, more than eight weeks since they had even heard from him, they were outright alarmed. "You don't think something happened to him, do you?" Padma asked looking incredibly down. The sun was rising and casting a warm glow on them.

Tracey had her lips pursed, "When I see him I'm going to strangle him."

Hermione suddenly had the light bulb light up inside her head, "Hmm, Daphne, Tracey, do you think maybe the headmaster could know where he is?" The two girls blinked owlishly at her, "Harry did seem a little close with professor Dumbledore. I mean, before we even met him he had borrowed a Transfiguration text written by Dumbledore didn't he?"

Daphne and Tracey smiled brightly, "You're right actually! It's a long shot, but it could work! Let's go." The five girls raced to the Floo, and Daphne took a calm breath. She threw the powder in and said as clearly as she could, "Hogwarts Headmaster office!"

 **-]|[-**

Albus was enjoying a nice cup of tea. He was back from the ICW meetings that had taken up much of the past two weeks, and was looking forward to relaxing with Fawkes for a few days before the next Wizengamot meeting. So of course, he was forced to bite back a groan when his fireplace roared and turned green. He quickly made sure he was presentable and faced the fire. He was quite surprised to see the floating head of one of his best younger students floating there, rather than Cornelius as he had expected. "Miss Greengrass!" He allowed his surprise to show in his tone, "I hope you're enjoying this lovely day. What may I do for you?"

"Sorry to disturb you, headmaster." Daphne said calmly and with poise, as she was taught, "I was wondering if you had a few moments to spare? May we come through?"

"Certainly." Albus replied, "How many will be coming through? I can enlarge my fireplace in a moment."

"Five." He eyed the small amount of hope on her face, and raised a bushy eyebrow. He drew his wand and the fireplaces at both ends enlarged – which, as an aside, utterly shocked the girls. They knew he was good, but _that_ good? He could affect objects on the other end of a Floo gate with his magic? That was…astonishing.

"Well, hello Miss Davis, Miss Granger, Misses Patils. How are you on this lovely day?" He smiled at each girl in greeting.

Hermione stepped up, "As much as we hope you were enjoying it, headmaster." She smiled and they all curtseyed.

"Indeed." Albus smiled, "I have just come back from Geneva. But I shan't bore you with details of the Confederation. What can I do for you five ladies?"

Daphne decided to take the reins, "Well professor, we noticed during the school year that you seemed a little closer to Harry than headmaster and student. We've been trying to get in touch with him for weeks with no response."

Tracey scowled lightly, "We blew straight past moping and angry over him ignoring us and we're now just flat out worried about him."

Padma and Parvati spoke at the same time, "We were wondering if you would know where he is?"

Dumbledore rubbed his beard lightly, "Fascinating." He said as he lightly nodded to himself, "And most intriguing, if I do say so myself."

"Headmaster?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"You see, Harry was in here not a week ago rather furious that you girls were ignoring _him_." Dumbledore said simply.

"…eh?" For once, not even prim and proper Daphne had a response.

"What?" Tracey asked flatly.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "Indeed. He told me that he sent all five of you letters not two weeks into the break. He told me that he had arranged things with Tom down in the Leaky Cauldron so that you could address any letters to him there for him to pick up. He sent those instructions to you in that first letter, and now you say you never received them?"

Daphne was cold, but a storm was building inside her eyes. It was the only tell of her fury. The other girls weren't any better, but Hermione managed to keep her eyes on the prize, "Professor, have you been able to communicate with him? Do you think you could pass a letter to him for us?"

Albus chuckled lightly, "I believe I can do you one better." He inclined an eyebrow at Fawkes, who seemed to give off a long-suffering huff of ' _stupid human. What am I, a post owl?_ ' Fawkes vanished in a burst of flames.

 **-]|[-**

Fawkes burst into flames inside of Harry's cavern singing his song. He landed on a piece of rock sticking out of the ground in front of a truly massive pile of gold. He loudly trilled out his song, and several gold coins shot out of the pile and landed a fair ways away. Steam rose from the nostril as the mound shifted. One massive eye opened, first like a human eye and then with a membrane sliding sideways like a reptile. The green iris was blazing with inner flame as it zeroed in on the firebird. " **Fawkes?** " His head shifted and showers of gold started falling off of him as he rose, " **What is it? We weren't due for another meeting until next week.** " Fawkes trilled in response, " **A surprise in his office? What is that man up to now.** " He shook his head and started shrinking. Fawkes let out somewhat of a squawk of laughter, "Stupid bird. Of course I can transfigure clothes again." It went unsaid that even a month after fixing his most major issue, he still sometimes lost clothes in the transition. Harry lay his hand on Fawkes who was still laughing at him. The two vanished in a burst of flame.

 **-]|[-**

"What's this about Alb-" Harry would have continued, but before the fire had even fully dissipated a brunette missile crashed into him, followed by a redhead, two Indians, and a much more sedate but no less relieved silverette. "Ack!" The pile crashed into the floor among Albus's booming laughter. "What the?!"

"Oh Harry! We've missed you so much!" Hermione's voice vibrated in his neck, and their scents invaded his nose. The familiarity almost went to Harry's head, and for the first time, did go a little further down and do… _interesting_ things. Hermione who was on top of him let out a little embarrassed squeak as his reaction started pressing into her leg. She was on the bottom of the pile so she just had to bear with it.

"Miss me?" He groaned, "Why the hell didn't you answer any of my letters then?" He really wanted to be furious with them, but now with them in his arms he couldn't bring himself to.

"We never _got_ any letters!" Tracey said angrily, "And you never got any of ours! We must have sent over a dozen at this point!"

"Ahem." Dumbledore's amused voice rapidly reminded the group that there was a headmaster in the room, and the girls jumped away with bright blushes as if they had been scalded. Harry got to his feet and stared at the girls. They had grown an inch or three, except for Tracey. It appeared as if she really would be the short one of the group. Daphne was the tallest followed by Parvati and Padma. The twins had already started showing a few more signs of puberty, as had Daphne. Tracey and Hermione looked to be a bit later bloomers. Harry himself had grown another inch but had packed on a fair bit more muscle. "Yes, it is quite a mystery that is surrounding you six, isn't it? Not the 'what' of course, but the 'how?'" Dumbledore twirled his wand lazily.

He put it onto his desk and reached into a drawer, taking out a different pair of glasses than the ones he already had on. It had a few extra lenses to it that could be moved in or out of the way., "Now if you all would separate for a moment – just a few feet is fine, thank you – I'll see if I can figure this out." He took off the glasses already on his face and put on the new ones, with bright hot pink lenses. Despite the silly look, they could palpably feel the power in them. "Interesting, I don't see any mail redirection wards attached to any of you. Clearly this will take a bit more digging." He flipped the blue lens onto the main one, and for some reason it turned green. Hermione almost choked and her hands twitched, wanting to grab it and learn its secrets, "Hmm, nothing there either." He flipped the lens back up and dropped a yellow one on his left eye, turning the combination dark purple, "Aha!"

He took off the glasses and put them back into his desk, before slipping his regular ones on. Harry and the girls waited a few seconds before raising eyebrows, "Well?" Harry asked, getting a tiny kick in the ankle from Hermione. He smirked lightly.

"A pretty interesting trick." Albus said with a chuckle, "Somehow, someone managed to slip a rider onto the post magic itself." The eyes of the Pure and Halfbloods of the group shot wide open. That was very difficult to do. _Very_ difficult. "The rider was attached to Harry. Any time someone addressed him in a letter or Harry himself wrote one, this someone would be alerted and would then be able to intercept any owls."

Harry pursed his lips in anger, "Right, so who do I have to murder?" The girls turned alarmed eyes at him, not quite believing that he had _said_ that in front of literally the most important person in the country.

Albus chuckled, more than used to Harry by now, "No one my young friend. Not even I would be able to figure out the 'who' of this tale. Not with the method they chose anyway." He picked his wand up and flicked it lightly. The sound of shattering glass rang through the office, "Breaking it is another matter. Putting a rider onto magic like that is not only difficult, but more than a little dangerous. I imagine our clever friend is now nursing a bit more than _just_ a blistering headache."

Harry smirked viciously, "Thank you Albus."

"Anytime." The old man chuckled, "But the day is young and I imagine your friends have missed you quite a bit." A flick of his wand turned a piece of paper into a portkey, "Have fun in Diagon children. Your book lists should be arriving in a week or two."

"That late?" Daphne couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Don't they usually come much sooner?"

"They do." Albus confirmed, "Alas, there are quite a few who believe the position of Defense is cursed. Not one teacher has lasted more than a year in decades. I am beginning to have trouble actually filling the post."

"How do you curse a _position_?" Hermione asked in wonder, and then looked at him sheepishly, "I assume you've tried switching rooms?"

Albus looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "Of course. I imagine I would have felt quite silly right now if it had never occurred to me." Hermione blushed and her friends laughed at her, "My guess is an item." Dumbledore mused, more to himself than the youngsters really, "A curse on the castle would have dissipated long ago. It is far too magical to keep a strong curse like that hidden from me, and any weaker curse would be overwhelmed. An item is a much more likely candidate, if there is even a curse at all. We could just be extremely unlucky." He shrugged.

"Decades of losing teachers in a single position yearly is a bit more than just unlucky." Parvati said dryly.

Albus chuckled, "Indeed. Good day, children!"

 **-]|[-**

"How has your summer been Harry?" Hermione was basically a limpet at this point, attached to his arm tightly. They were all enjoying ice cream at Fortescue's in Diagon.

"Painful." He deadpanned, before chuckling, "It took me over a week to get enough control over my magic to do anything." Luckily, he was able to transform fully on the third day, since Albus needed to leave. However that ended up being all he could do. It took constant transforming back and forth to get his magic even somewhat stabilized.

Tracey winced from her position on his other arm, "Ouch. Are you back to normal now or is it still acting up?"

"Still acting up." He said with a groan, "Occasionally my magic takes a page from my wand's book." The girls puzzled over that for all of two seconds, before they all started to giggled, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." He grumbled, "Stupid non-burnable friends." That got them to laugh outright, and he let out a self-depreciating chuckle of his own. It was rather amusing if he was honest, even if he hated it. "How about you lot?"

They all looked at each other and smirked, "We've had a great time. We basically turned my yard into a water park and we had our parents make us a bouldering course last Yule." Daphne said airily, "We've also continued dueling and started practicing with my parents. I'm looking forward to our next duel." She gave him a smoldering gaze of challenge.

Harry smirked back at her, "Well, I'd hate to disappoint. And as promised, I won't be holding back as much." His grin was a little toothy and he watched the pale girl pale a little more.

Parvati chuckled at Daphne and put her own hand into the challenge, "Maybe it should be us against you then." The girls started looking thoughtful, "You can handle that, can't you Harry?"

Tracey was basically bouncing in excitement, "I like this idea! Let's do it! Come on, let's go home!" A short trip later and they were all inside of the Greengrass manor.

Well, strictly speaking it was the Greengrass manor. Tracey and her parents practically lived there anyway, with how often they visited. Greengrass/Davis would have been more appropriate. When they got outside, the Greengrass patriarch raised an eyebrow at the new member of the group, "Well, well, you must be Mister Potter." He got up and walked over to the smiling group, "Alexander Greengrass." He introduced himself. He held out his hand for a shake, and whistled, "Firm grip you've got there lad."

Harry chuckled lightly, "Not gripping."

Alex chuckled. "You weren't kidding were you, princess?" He asked Daphne, who was smirking at him, "Did you really punch out a troll?"

"More of a kick, really."

"No, no, that was the first one!" Tracey said, "Second one was a punch."

"Well, do be careful with our ladies, won't you?" He smirked as the girls flushed, "Now, any particular reason you decided to drive my girls batty with worry this summer?" His tone was decidedly more arctic, and while he wasn't glaring at Harry, he certainly was making it clear that he wasn't particularly pleased with him.

"It wasn't his fault daddy." Daphne shook her head at him.

Padma piped up, "Some jerk was stealing his mail! Apparently he tried to send us over a dozen letters already, and he never got any of ours either!"

Alex went stone faced, "That's a serious issue. Do I need to Floo Amelia?"

Hermione shook her head, "No sir." She flushed as he once again told her to just call him Alex like everyone else, "We only found him because we hit on the idea of going to Professor Dumbledore. He removed the spell from Harry, but said it was untraceable."

"It was a rider on the post magic tied to Harry!" Parvati explained, "Isn't that supposed to be really difficult? Who could have done that?"

"I'm not certain." Alex looked troubled, "Regardless, I'm glad this didn't ruin your friendship." He smiled, "Make yourself at home Harry. We'll be having barbeque tonight." He laughed as he watched Harry's face light up with glee, "Yes, we heard about your little addiction to good meat." Harry mock glared at the girls, who all giggled, "Enjoy yourselves, kids. Don't tire yourselves out too much. Pleasure meeting you, Harry."

"Your dad seems cool." Harry laughed as the man went into the house.

"Yeah, up until he gets mad." Tracey and Daphne mumbled, "Last time he got mad the town a couple hours away had a blackout for two days."

 **-]|[-**

Alex's smile disappeared the second he went into the house. The other three adults were in the kitchen preparing the feast, "So, our girls managed to find young Harry, finally."

"Oh really?" Cassie turned and raised an eyebrow, "Did Tracey claw his eyes out like she said she would?"

"No. In fact they weren't mad at him at all." He explained the situation as he joined them in preparing some of the dishes.

"That's troubling," Selene said, "But not something we can do much about. What did you think of him, dear?"

Alex pursed his lips, "If it wasn't for the fact that we've always allowed the girls to make their own choices – and the fact that they've been friends for almost a year already – I would be leery of allowing them to continue knowing him." He sighed. Unknown to him, Harry could hear every word with his enhanced hearing. "I could tell from the way they interacted that they all care very much for him, and he them. That's the only reason I'm not going with my gut instinct."

"Oh my!" Selene was completely wide eyed, "But why?"

Alex shook his head with a light smirk, "Have you ever been near a dangerous magical animal?" They stopped what they were doing and blinked in incomprehension, "He hid it well, but I know how to read auras. I felt the way I imagine a steer would feel while being hunted by ten separate tigers simultaneously. If anything the girls understated things when they were telling us about him. When we shook hands, he could have turned my bones into powder." He paused opened his mouth, closed it again, and then snickered, "Well, if I couldn't turn into lightning anyway." He shook his head, "He's dangerous. Not to our girls or to us, I don't think. They're all far too attached to each other for me to worry about that now. I can see how close-knit they are. But he _is_ dangerous. A twelve year old boy shouldn't be that tall or muscled. His magic shouldn't be so mature, even if the chaoticness the girls told us about was definitely present. I do wonder what he did to cause that. All we know is that he was in a coma for almost a week because of it. And most of all it shouldn't project such a feeling of utter _violence_."

"Violence?" Cassie asked sharply, "Explain." She would most definitely go mama-bear against anything that could threaten her little ones.

"Yes." Alex sighed, "Not directed anywhere. It wasn't anger or rage or anything like that. It felt remarkably controlled to be honest. Maybe violence isn't the right word. _Danger_ is more suitable. As if he projects a palpable feeling of, ' _don't mess with me or mine._ ' Maybe that's why Daphne told us most owls avoided him. Maybe they can sense it better than us and feel like they would prey." He chuckled, "Talking about it has made me think about it more. He could be an excellent protector for our girls where we can't be. Maybe their friendship is for the best."

Beorn chuckled, "Let's watch them closely then, shall we? I do love a good mystery! Let's see if we can figure out young Harry."

"Perhaps we should insure our home first." Selene said dryly. She had her right eye closed with two fingers over it, "They started dueling, five against one." Unknown to the kids, Daphne's mother had taken control of one of the local birds and was watching the duel quite closely.

Alex laughed, "Maybe they _were_ still angry with him."

"Not quite." Selene deadpanned, "Padma was already taken down. He is absurdly fast. He didn't even use a spell. He just _moved_ quicker than she could react and held a claw hand close to her throat. She moved away and sat down. Apparently they're considering a touch from him a knockout."

"Apparently the troll punching story was true. They better consider that a knockout." Alex chuckled, "Don't hold out on us. Let us see as well." Selene held up her other hand and it started misting up. A scene appeared in the cloud, and they all settled down to watch.

Padma was indeed sitting out while pouting outrageously. Hermione had her wand out and was flinging two to three spells per wave of her wand. She had already frozen parts of the lawn with a spell and was trying to corral Harry by controlling his movement. "Our lawn!" Cassie moaned more for the sake of complaining. She was quickly shushed. That could be fixed easily.

Harry wasn't having it, and he whipped his own wand out. The earth roiled and turned into shackles, which grabbed onto a panicking Hermione. She was forced to drop her wand and sit down sadly. The other girls hadn't been idle. Parvati and Daphne combined an attack. Parvati conjured a deluge of water from her own body and sent it flying towards Harry. That amount of water flying as quickly as she had managed would likely do a fair bit of damage on its own, but Daphne had added her own lightning too it. The electrified water dug a trench through their lawn and shocked Harry even as he dodged.

A pulse of something radiated from him, and the water evaporated. A heat haze made his form shimmer. Tracey was above him shooting down both spells as well as her rainbow bombs. They had grown in potency over the summer and she was also much more maneuverable in the air. Harry shoved his hand into the lawn like it was water, and pulled out a transfigured metal shield. He raised it over his head and deflected the bomb, before throwing it like a Frisbee at Tracey. Her eyes bugged out in panic and rather than simply moving out of the way, she tried to shield it.

It hit her shield with a clang and the force knocked the girl right out of the air. Harry leapt under her and caught her with a cheeky smile. Tracey was scowling and huffing with red cheeks as he set her down. He leapt away from the girl with a laugh, and focused on Parvati and Daphne. Parvati turned her arms into water and shot it towards him like a cannonball. Harry waved his hand and a massive conflagration erupted in front of him. It raced towards the water and evaporated it effortlessly. Parvati's eyes widened and her entire body liquefied and turned into a puddle. She started forcing her way underground, but even so the sheer heat still hurt a little. She rose out when the fire ended and turned back into human. She was panting and she was steaming, but she was thankfully uninjured. She swiped her hand near her neck back and forth, apparently calling it quits.

Daphne was the last one left, and she was even paler than usual. She went for the shock and awe strategy. She should have known better than to expect that to work on Harry, though with her it was a bit more _literal_ than normal. A truly massive amount of lightning erupted from her body and started striking out at Harry as well as randomly out at the grounds. Harry raised rods of earth which warped into iron. The lightning immediately went for the grounded targets and avoided Harry entirely, up until she realized it and started actively controlling the bolts with additional magic. Then they started ignoring the metal and frying the air where Harry's head had previously occupied.

Harry cupped his hands and a massive plume of fire erupted towards Daphne, who cut out her attack and transformed completely. The girl vanished from her location with a thunderous crack and reassembled herself behind him. At these short distances, she could practically consider it apparition. Her wand swiped through the air and she shot four different charms and hexes at his back. A wall of earth rose to intercept them all, but the piercer went straight through and grazed his arm.

He dodged out of the way as the wall exploded from a **Bombarda** and flicked his wand. A giant stone hand rose out of the earth and grabbed Daphne's wand arm. Just as she was about to transform and get out of dodge, Harry appeared behind her and wrapped her up in a hug from behind. She puffed her cheeks, before sighing and chuckling.

Selene cut her power off and the cloud vanished. She removed her fingers and opened her eye, "He won." She looked as if she was surprised, "Daphne took that loss a lot better than I thought she would. She hates losing."

"They all do, I think." Beorn rubbed his clean-shaven chin, "Padma was looking quite put out that she was the first one out."

Alex was chuckling to himself, "I think Cassie and I will have our work cut out for us. I'm fairly sure we're about to be bombarded with training requests."

Selene smiled, "Yes that does sound about right. Three elementals for you, Tracey for Cassie." She looked happy, "I think I'll take Hermione myself. She seems more of a direct spell mistress."

"I suppose that leaves me with Harry." Beorn rumbled with a smile, "I wonder if he'll be as good with weapons as he is with magic."

"Just don't break him." Alex chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that all five of the girls would tan your hide if your mess with their Harry."

"Yes, they do seem quite taken with him, don't they?" Selene moved into her husband's arms, "I hope _that_ situation doesn't end up turning sour."

Beorn snorted, "Break him? He punched out a troll man! If anything you'll be picking up my pieces."

 **-]|[-**

The next day Harry was greeted with a situation that he had not yet encountered, which left him feeling both bemused and entertained.

That situation being Daphne and Parvati in the morning.

He had been among the first to wake, and had barged into the room the girls were all sharing – which he was told in no uncertain terms was girls only for the time being by the smirking adults – to wake them as well. Hermione was already sitting up blearily and rubbing at her face, as was Padma. Tracey was also already even sitting in a comfy chair and reading a book. He didn't notice that all three of them were hiding smirks when they caught sight of him.

Daphne and Parvati were an entirely different story. Parvati was sprawled out on top of the mattress with her limbs splayed everywhere. Her nightshirt had ridden up exposing her midriff. Her short sleep shorts didn't do much to hide her legs either, and Harry was again beset by those unfamiliar feelings as he looked at her. Daphne on the other hand, was wrapped up so tightly in a cocoon of blankets and comforters that it was a miracle she could even breathe. All he could see was one closed eye, a bit of nose, and some silvery hair. "Anyone going to wake them up?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Have at it." Tracey waved at him negligently, keeping a close eye and smirk hidden behind her book.

He raised an eyebrow again. He sat and put his hand on the pile that was Daphne, but the second he started to shake her and softly say, "Wake up Da-" He was cut off by a hiss. He looked taken aback for a moment, before shaking her again. A rumble echoed in the room and Harry's lips quirked. That had been a remarkably good growl for the girl.

"Mmmmmm," Came from the coffin. One purple eye opened with red veins surrounding it. She glared at him, before closing her eye and snuggling again.

Harry started to snicker, and he went to shake her again, "Come on Daphne, time to get u-" He managed to get part of the comforter loose and away from her. He didn't even finish his sentence as her hand flashed out quick as lightning and left him eyeing his now-bleeding arm in bemusement. There were three scratches from where she had clawed him. She let out another hiss and turned around, showing off her bare back. He hadn't seen anything, but apparently she slept topless.

The three girls who were awake started to giggle helplessly. Harry looked so utterly confused that it was adorable. He started to grin, "If you don't wake up I'm going to tickle you, Daph."

"You wouldn't dare!" Was what she said. "Ywldndr!" was what they heard. The other three girls laughed when Harry did as said. He made sure she couldn't move her arms by trapping them with his legs, and then he started tickling the girl, "Harry!" She yelped and started to thrash, "Nooooo!" She started giggling helplessly under his assault. She tried bucking him off, but he was far heavier than she was and it didn't work.

"Getting up?" He chuckled as he got off. She whined and glared at him again, making sure she covered up properly as she turned, "You gave me a good one!" Her face blazed red when she eyed his arm.

"Gwy!" She tried to go back to sleep, "Stooerly."

"It's ten." He deadpanned, and she just whined again. He turned to Tracey who was laughing her socks off, "How in the world is this the first time I've seen her like this?" He was laughing himself.

"Because I have to deal with it at school." Tracey got out through her giggles, "Tickling and caffeine usually works. If all else fails a bucket of ice water and running _very fast_ does too. Her sister Astoria almost dies at least once a month from that."

"She has a sister?" Harry blinked, "Where is she? I haven't met her."

"Gone for a while." Hermione had used the distraction to get dressed in some summer clothes, "She'll be back next week I think. She's off visiting some friends." It took another ten minutes to raise the other two, and Harry discovered himself to be increasingly amused with Daphne because of it.

 **-]|[-**

Two days later, something much stranger happened. Harry had said good night to the girls and went into the adjacent room to get ready for bed. Only there was someone already in it. A House Elf. He eyed it seriously, knowing the Greengrass family had only one, and this was definitely not a she. He sent his stance aggressively and strode forward, "Who are you?"

The little being stopped hopping on his mattress cheerfully and hopped to the floor, "Harry Potter!" His voice was high pitched and if it weren't for silencing spells, it would have carried far into the house, "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir! Such an honor it is… I am Dobby sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the House Elf."

"Alright, you've met me." Harry allowed, "Now what do you want? Why are you here."

"Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…" Dobby said earnestly, though he liked to trail off often.

"The beginning is generally a good place." Harry deadpanned, "Sit."

To his shock, the House Elf looked as if Harry had just smacked him with a trout. He burst into noisy, wet tears, "Sit…sit down?" he wailed. " _Never_ … _never ever_ …"

"What are you blathering about?" Harry snapped, already feeling his already-short fuse start to burn. This reeked too much of fangirl.

"Dobby has _never_ been asked to sit down by a wizard. Like an _equal_!" The elf cried.

So, he was probably owned by an abusive family then. It really shouldn't have surprised him that there would be families like that, but it did. "Dobby!" He snapped and put a little bit of his presence into it, and the house elf froze, "Good. If you start to punish yourself in my presence I will hurt you, is that clear?" He unleashed his aura a little farther out, and was pleased to see the familiar shiver of fear overcome the elf. The little being nodded rapidly. Harry sighed, "You can't have met many decent wizards then." Dobby shook his head to affirm that, and then froze, looking very much like he wanted to grab a lamp to hit himself with. Harry speared him with another glare, and Dobby settled down, "Good. Remember, do _not_ punish yourself."

"Dobby will have to later." He sounded miserable, "House Elves cannot be speaking ill of their families."

"Then I assume they don't know that you're here."

Dobby shuddered. "Oh, no, sir, no… Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir…"

Harry deadpanned, "And they won't _notice_ you shutting your ears in the oven?"

"Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments…"

Well, that sucked for the little being. Despite himself, he started feeling a little bad for the thing. He couldn't even do anything to help, since he doubted he would get a name out of Dobby. So he moved on, "While that's horrible, that's not why you're here. Again, _why are you here_?"

"Dobby heard tell," He said hoarsely, "That Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just weeks ago… that Harry Potter escaped _yet again_."

"Escaped?" Harry laughed darkly, "Is that what they're saying? No, no Dobby. The only one escaping was that sack of _shit_." Dobby let out a gasp of shock.

"Ah, sir," He gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later! _Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts_!"

Harry eyed him with a dull look, "Right, and I have a bridge to sell you."

Dobby blinked, "What would Dobby do with a bridge?"

Harry shook his head, "Never mind." He chuckled, "Now I don't suppose you'll explain what your family and/or their friends are doing that was require you to come warn me."

Dobby looked to be straining. His little hands were inching towards the lamp, but a glare froze him again. "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."

"I'm in mortal danger like once a week." Harry deadpanned. An exaggeration to be sure, but he didn't feel like coming up with something different.

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril! He is too important, sir!"

Great. A fanatic. He was dealing with a fanatic. "Well, thank you for the warning, Dobby." Harry said, "But you're wasting your breath. I never shirk from a challenge. And either way, you couldn't keep me away from my friends."

"Friends who don't even _write_ to Harry Potter?" Dobby asked in what Harry was sure he thought was a sly manner. The elf had quite inconveniently – for himself – forgotten that he was _inside the house of two of Harry's friends_ due to meeting his idol _._ A moment later he really wished he hadn't.

Dobby blinked and suddenly Harry's hand was wrapped around his throat and squeezing, "So, you're the little shit who was stopping our letters. I assume you got it in your head that the lack of communication would depress me enough that I wouldn't want to go back." Dobby choked and nodded minutely, his bulbous eyes wide, "Be grateful, Dobby…" Harry said conversationally while holding Dobby up with one hand as if he weighed nothing, "That we were able to patch things up without any trouble." Dobby had started changing colors already, "If our friendships had been ruined because of you, I would be squeezing your little head right off your neck." He gave a slightly harder squeeze as the elf feebly kicked, and then dropped the elf, who immediately started coughing and gasping for air. "Now, you seem to be under the quite mistaken impression that I'm some fragile little waif who needs protecting. I am not. If I see a threat, I'll _destroy_ it myself. Is that in any way unclear?"

Dobby coughed looking at Harry with new eyes, "Harry Potter is very strong." He had tears in his eyes as he looked at Harry.

Harry laughed, "I knocked a troll twenty feet with a _punch_ Dobby." Dobby looked awed, "So let me reiterate, I could very easily pop your head off your neck like a pimple. So if you can't tell me any more details about this plot, give me back my letters and leave." Dobby shakily pulled his letters out of his pillowcase, forcing Harry to wrinkle his nose. He accepted them without a hitch though, and patted Dobby on the head, "Thank you. I'll keep your warning in mind, but if you try to stop me again I _will_ find you. Is there anything specific you can tell me? Is it Voldemort again?"

Dobby started to strain, "Not…not _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_ , sir." But he started straining very hard, reaching for the lamp despite Harry's glare pinning him in place. He appeared to be trying to give Harry some sort of hint with his eyes, but obviously Harry couldn't read his mind.

Harry hummed, "Not Voldemort-" He ignored the elf's twitch of despair again, "directly, but the way you're straining makes me think it has something to do with him." The elf's eye twitched, making Harry surer of the statement. "Alright, if that's all you have for me, I'll take it. You're free to go, and if I have the chance I'll try to free you from your owners." Dobby gasped in shock and joy, "You're a little shit who thinks he knows better than everyone else, and you apparently have no respect for personal choice, but no one deserves a family like that." Harry remembered his own family all too well, "So if I get the chance, I'll give it a go. Now fuck off."

"Dobby apologizes, Harry Potter sir." Dobby eyed him tearfully, before he clicked his fingers and his body faded away.

Harry eyed the vanishing wisps for a second, before getting up and going to the room near his. He knocked twice, waited a moment for the girls to yell that he could come in, and then opened the door holding up all of their letters fanned out, "Guess what just happened?" He deadpanned.

"What, how?!" Tracey immediately recognized the papers they had sent him. The other girls weren't too far behind.

Harry sat on the bed, "Some fanatic little shit of a House Elf is owned by some sadistic bastards who like to make him punish himself. Apparently he listened to them discussing some ' _terrible plot_ ' that'll be unleashed at Hogwarts this year and got it in his head that he had to save me. He was hoping the lack of communication would mean that I thought you all hated me and that I wouldn't want to go back to school. When that didn't work, he came to try to warn me away in person."

Daphne nibbled on her bottom lip, "Definitely a Death Eater family then. That encompasses most of the ' _Dark_ ' families," she used air quotes here, "and the more moderate families never treat House Elves that badly."

Tracey sighed and fell back, "Another year where we have to watch our backs? You take us the nicest places Harry."

The twins chuckled along with Harry, but Hermione looked up at him seriously, "You didn't hurt him did you?"

Harry eyed her with a raised eyebrow, "There may have been a little choking involved. Don't give me that look. Who knows what he would have tried next if I didn't impress on him that it was very much unappreciated. Maybe he would have done something idiotic like try to expose us near muggles to make sure we couldn't get to school. You never know with fanatics." He shrugged. Hermione still looked disapproving, but it was a more thoughtful and dubious look than before. "The warning was nice actually. At least we won't be blindsided this year. I was just angry that he risked our friendship." They all smiled, and Hermione yawned, "Anyway, I'll see you girls tomorrow. I'm going to bed."

"Night, Harry!" They chorused as he shut the door behind him.

 **-]|[-**

The rest of the summer was going by far quicker than they hoped. Harry had found a new appreciation for bikinis once they started spending time in the pool, and he cursed the fact that they would be going back to the school and boring, slow classes soon. The next two weeks passed all too quickly, and as promised, their Hogwarts letters arrived without a hitch. Harry was pretty sure that the owl who carried them wasn't too appreciative at having to carry six of the things itself though. All six were yellowed parchment written on with green ink.

Harry ripped the letter open sedately while he chewed on a breakfast sausage, but then he almost choked, "Harry? Are you alright?"

Harry coughed, "What the hell?" He exclaimed, getting raised eyebrows from all five girls as well as their parents, "Who the hell is Gilderoy Lockhart and who did he pay off to have _seven_ of his bloody books on our assigned reading?"

Selene slapped her face, "You have got to be kidding me." Harry passed her his letter, and she took a minute to read through it, "Bloody hell." She mumbled.

"Mum!" Daphne looked shocked to hear her mother swear.

"Bloody hell is right." Beorn grumbled, "It isn't a problem for us, but those books are expensive for the less wealthy folk. And seven of them on top of it? Paying off isn't exactly the thought that came to mind." He chuckled as the sentence went over most of the kid's heads.

"I don't understand." Hermione and the twins looked confused, "Isn't Lockhart supposed to be really famous? I heard he won the Order of Merlin!" She said while reading through her own letter.

Parvati giggled girlishly, "Among other things."

Alexander rolled his eyes, "Yes, he's _supposed_ to be really famous." He shook his head, "I've read those bloody books, and while they're fantastic children's stories, they certainly aren't _textbooks._ They may as well have assigned Harry's books." He grinned at Harry slyly, who glared at him.

Cassie had stopped paying attention to the letters and had gone back to her newspaper. Still, she lowered it for a moment and grinned at them, "We went to school with that fop. He was always full of himself and thought himself to be far more special than he really was. He carved his bloody signature onto the Quidditch pitch in twenty foot long letters in one year, and always claimed he would recreate the Philosopher's Stone before he graduated. He of course, did not. If you looked up narcissist in a dictionary you would probably just find his picture. These books have no actual good instruction in them."

"Then why are his books on the list?" Daphne scowled, "We already had that useless idiot Quirrel teaching us last year. You can't tell me we're going to go two for two. We'll go insane at school!"

Alex shrugged, "If I had to guess, a fan of his or maybe the 'big' man himself got hired for one reason or another. Albus is always having trouble filling that post."

Tracey groaned, "Great, another year with a useless idiot for a teacher. Can we get permission to just skip?"

Hermione still looked dubious, "Well, maybe he changed after school?" Everyone but Parvati turned to stare at her dully, "What? It could happen!" She exclaimed, "Besides, he got an Order of Merlin and he's an honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League! They don't just give those titles out, right?"

Beorn snorted, "His Order of Merlin was awarded by former Minister Millicent Bagnold, and it is widely speculated that she had an affair with the man." Hermione and Padma's jaws dropped,

"What's an affair?" Astoria – who had finally gotten back home – skipped into the room with a cheerfulness that simply shouldn't be allowed so early in the morning. Apparently she was enough of a 'morning person' for both herself and Daphne, since she apparently pulled all of it away from her sister. Thankfully, she got her Harry Potter fangirl awe out of her system quickly, otherwise her hyperactivity would probably have driven Harry up the wall.

Several blushes lit up the room from the younger crowd, as the other adults turned saccharine grins to the large, now-sweating blonde, "Err…we'll tell you when you're older sweetheart."

"Aww." Astoria pouted as she loaded her plate up with syrup and added a couple pancakes, "No fair, you meanies!"

Daphne twitched, "And why are we allowing pixie here to have pancakes with her syrup? Don't you remember what happened last time?" She eyed her sister like she was a bomb about to explode. Astoria stuck her tongue out at Daphne triumphantly.

"Anyway," Beorn hurried to change the subject, thankful for the distraction, "As for the Defense League…well there's two problems with that one. First, he's an _honorary_ member. Which means he didn't have to actually _get_ _in_. From what I remember of him, he certainly wasn't skilled enough in Defense to actually manage it. Secondly…the Defense League never actually _does_ anything of note anymore. Oh they'll put themselves in articles and take interviews, but not once in the past century have they actually been responsible for taking down a major Dark Wizard. Long ago they were the best, sure. Now? The organization has just turned into a 'pat yourself on the back' circle. All four of us turned down offers to join them. So did Harry's parents if I remember correctly." The word he had wanted to use was 'circlejerk,' but he imagined his sweet Cassie would have made him pay for that one later since the kids were still a bit young for that kind of humor.

Harry groaned, "Right, I'll give him at most three classes. If he's as much of an idiot as you're suggesting I'm taking the girls and going to do something else. We already have one nap time at Hogwarts. We don't need two."

"And if he gives you detention?" Selene asked mildly.

"I'm sure there are ways to break a man without hurting him." Harry said cheerfully, going back to his breakfast.

Alex snorted and smirked widely, "If you get a chance, try moving everything in his room an inch out of place. That one drives people up the wall!"

"No, no. I should reverse everything every day or two! Even pictures!"

Daphne groaned, "Oh Merlin, what have I done? Why did I not think that getting you two together would be a bad idea?" She covered her face with her hands, while Tracey patted her on the back with an amused smile.

 **-]|[-**

That Wednesday the adults didn't have anything to do for the day, so they all went down to Diagon Alley with the kids. "Gringotts first, I think." Alex said airily. The reactions of everyone else as they went down the tunnels amused Harry. Hermione was clutching his arm like a vice and was paler than Daphne normally was. Selene, Cassie, Beorn, Tracey and Parvati whooped and cheered all the way down. Padma merely looked relaxed, while Daphne and Alex hid maniac grins. They got their gold quickly, with Harry offering to pay for Hermione since it would be more annoying to deal with the little cretins who ran the bank.

On the white steps of the bank, Selene asked the big question, "So, where first? Not the bookshop." She said quickly as both her daughter and Hermione opened their mouths, "We'll hit that one last. No doubt between the six of you we'll be leaving with half the inventory." She smirked lightly as the other parents chuckled.

"Brooms?" Parvati asked with a grin, getting groans out of Hermione and Harry, "Okay, Hermione I understand. She talked our ears off more than once last year and it's clear she's afraid of heights. But I still can't get you Harry! You were awesome on that crappy school broom! Why don't you like flying?"

The parents looked on in interest, having not heard this one before. "They're slow and boring." Harry shrugged in response, "No effort at all. You're just sitting on a stick."

Beorn deadpanned, "If those crappy school brooms are the same ones I remember, I would agree. They can go sixty miles an hour at best. But the new Nimbus 2001 hits a hundred and thirty easily."

"The speed wasn't the only problem." Harry chuckled as they walked, "Again, you're just sitting on a silly stick. I don't find it fun. No effort at all to make it work."

Hermione whistled as they made it to the store, "I'm not really a fan, but 'price on demand?' This thing must be expensive to the point of being silly."

Alex chuckled, "Yes, indeed they are. I got a quote a few weeks back, and they go for around nine-thousand galleons." Hermione choked on her own saliva, as did several of the others. Hermione wasn't exactly sure on the conversion rate, but that was at least a more-than-decent car's worth. They next went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and gave the kids a sugar high. Though in Astoria's case, that was seemingly her natural state so not much changed.

An hour or two later, they called it quits and made it to the bookshop. Only they didn't go right in, because there was a _massive_ crowd blocking the entrance, "What in the world?" Cassie mumbled to herself. Beorn got behind her and casually lifted her up, "Oh great." She snapped, "Lockhart's doing a book signing." She said as her husband put her down. The adults and most of the kids let out a couple groans of dismay, "12:30 to 4:30. We can always come back later I suppose."

"Nah." Harry said, "We don't have to actually meet him. Let's just get our books and get out." He then blinked, "And what the hell are these idiots doing? Are they wizards or not? Enlarge the bloody entrance!" He shook his fist like a cranky old man as he yelled at the mass of magical folk in front of him. The girls giggled at his annoyance, but followed him in. Of course, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy

They managed to get _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ easily enough. It was in a part of the shop that wasn't occupied, after all. They went back to the adults who had decided they would grab the seven ' _textbooks_ ' for them, so they could spend as little time in there as possible. Lockhart was in full view now, and Harry almost gagged. He was seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly-white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes. His pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair. A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Ow!" Tracey yelped as the man stepped on her foot, "Watch it!"

"Out of the way!" He snarled at her, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the _Daily Prophet_!"

"Big bloody deal!" Tracey snarled right back.

Gilderoy had heard the commotion and looked up, his eyes landing on Tracey, then the silver-haired Daphne who was right next to her, and then landed on each of the group and stopped on Harry. His eyes widened and a blinding grin lit his face up, "It _can't_ be Harry Potter?"

The sea of people near them parted with gasps ringing in the air before they started whispering excitedly. Harry's amused face closed up and became stone-like. He _hated_ these goddamn pests who treated him the way a muggle would treat an animal at a zoo. Lockhart dove forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front.

No, that wasn't quite right. The diving and the seizing was on point, but the pulling to the front?

Not so much.

Lockhart had grabbed his left arm with his right with a limp grip that might have succeeded in dragging a ten year old. He didn't hear Tracey's hissed exclamation of ' _oh_ fuck!' before the shit hit the fan. The shit being Lockhart and the fan being the largest portrait of the man. Harry's right hand grabbed the man's forearm in a vice hold as he spun on his feet. He yanked the arm away from his chest and therefore dragged a yelping Lockhart into his back, before he bucked and threw the man over his shoulder roughly ten feet across the room. He imagined that he would have gone farther, but the blonde fop smashed into the portrait of his own rapidly-becoming-horrified face. A ripping sound rang through the air as Lockhart's body punched through the flimsy material and landed in a groaning heap on the other side. Harry swiped his hands across his person with a stony, dry look on his face, "Don't touch me, pervert." He couldn't see his friends and their parents, but most of them were staring at him with expressions of glee.

"Can't take him anywhere." He heard Daphne mumbling. Her voice was muffled, so she probably had her face in her hands.

"Why did you do that?!" A dumpy, redheaded woman yelled at him shrilly. Judging from the redheaded twins – who were bowing on their knees to him and proclaiming him their master – and the rest of the redheads looking at him with expressions ranging from hero-worshipping awe to flat out dislike, he had just met the Weasley matriarch.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "A strange man grabbing an innocent young boy doesn't seem off to you?" He heard his friends coughing pointedly behind him, and held back a smirk.

The woman sputtered noisily, "He's Gilderoy Lockhart!" She got out finally.

He eyed her coldly, "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" He didn't even pay attention to the rest of her sputtering before turning around. Selene and Cassie were hiding massive grins, while Alex and Beorn weren't even trying. Hermione was stuck between horrified disapproval and amusement, while the rest of them were just giggling and shaking their heads.

"We really _can't_ take him anywhere." Tracey was loudly complaining to Daphne and Parvati while winking at him. They both giggled harder. He hadn't expected Parvati to rid herself of the hero worship that quickly, but it was clear that after a single meeting she could care less about lockhart. Unknown to Harry, Parvati had compared the man to him and had found him lacking. Hermione had as well, though she hid it better. They paid for their books and made to leave.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing.

Harry rolled his eyes and turned around with a smile plastered on his face, "How are you, cousin? Did you do well in finals?" Jab definitely directed straight at the Malfoy heir's spleen.

Draco flushed, " _Famous_ Harry Potter. Can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page."

"And you Draco, shall forever be passed over and forgotten. Too bad, so sad." Tracey had a fairly convincing tone of commiseration as she came over and slipped a shrunken set of Lockhart's books into Harry's pocket for him.

Draco turned an angry red as the Weasleys showed up, "Leave him alone, you jerk!" The youngest, female redhead said. Harry almost turned to her in surprise. He hadn't expected the Weasleyette to actually have a spine.

Draco scoffed, "Got yourself a girlfriend, Potter?"

The younger girl went scarlet, but Harry merely rolled his eyes, "What are you, five? Cousin your father must be so disappointed. Your jabs are _terrible_." Malfoy paled and then flushed as Ron and his older brothers fought their way over.

"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe.

"Weasley!" Draco exclaimed, "In a shop? Are you _mad_? Your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for anything here." Ron went as red as his sister and dropped his own stack of books into her rather worn-looking cauldron. Harry almost had to give Draco that one.

"What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside." A balding redhead who was clearly the elder Weasley showed up to collect his brood.

"Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley." A man who could only be Draco's father stepped up behind his son. He had long, perfectly straight platinum-blonde hair and was dressed opulently. Every stitch of clothing was clearly designed to make sure everyone knew he shit gold. He held a walking stick in his right hand made of black lacquered wood. It was topped by a silver, snarling snake head with emeralds for eyes. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

"Lucius." said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

Lucius turned to Harry and his friends, as well as the adult Greengrasses and Davises, "Harry Potter…" He sneered lightly at Harry, "I've heard…so much about you and your…friends."

Harry grinned lightly, "Not as much as I've heard of you, I'm sure. Dear Draco here can't seem to go a couple minutes without mentioning you." Draco's cheeks turned very, very red, "I'm sure you're quite proud of him for the past year. Why, he _almost_ broke single digits for our class rank."

Draco glared at Harry hatefully, while the Weasleys watched in awe. Lucius's sneer grew far more pronounced as he looked down his nose at his son, "But of course. We have had quite a few _talks_ over his success."

"I'm sure with your guidance, he's bound to do better this year. Who knows, he might even make ninth." Harry watched with a growing grin as Malfoy's pale features started reddening, "You're welcome by the way!" he said, switching subjects quite quickly. He held out his hand for Malfoy to shake, knowing the man would have to keep up appearances.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow as he took Harry's hand. He immediately wished he hadn't, and had to fight to keep the wince of pain from his face, "Whatever would I be thanking you for?"

"Why, saving you from Voldemort, of course." Several people gasped and let out little shrieks of shock as Malfoy curdled, "I can't _imagine_ what it must have felt like for such an… _upstanding_ member of society to be so powerless."

Malfoy was fighting very hard to keep from whipping the boy across his smug face with his cane. The entire right side of his face was twitching minutely. The air of the bookstore was rapidly becoming charged, and Harry's eyes were glowing with an inner fire. "Why yes, of course." Malfoy hissed through clenched teeth. Both from rage as well as the fact that Harry was crushing his hand. He was in public and could do nothing to address the blatant insults Harry was barely trying to hide in what would have been somewhat innocent words had Lucius actually been innocent. He finally was able to draw his hand back and it throbbed angrily on his stick. He couldn't do anything here and his seeds still needed to be planted. He turned to an easier target. "Busy time at the Ministry, I hear." said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?" He reached into the female Weasley's cauldron and pulled out a rather worn and battered looking book, specifically _Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_. "Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or his sister. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy."

"Clearly." Mr. Malfoy said, "I wonder how often your children have to go hungry for you to play with your useless muggle junk." That was a lot heavier handed than Lucius had wanted to go with, but his feud with Arthur was already well known. It wouldn't bring too much scrutiny.

What it did bring, was Arthur's fist. His daughter's cauldron hit the floor with a metallic clang as the balding redhead dove forward and punched the elder blonde so hard that he crashed into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads. Ron, Fred, George, and the young girl all cheered their father on, while his wife was screaming for him to stop. The crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over as the store's owner cried as his shop was damaged for the second time that day, "Gentlemen please! _Please_!"

But the loudest voice came from someone just walking into the shop, "Break it up there, gents. Come on now, break it up." Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and the right side of Lucius's face had already started turning purple.

He was still clenching the old Transfiguration book he'd taken from the Weasleyette furiously. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice, "Here girl, take your book. It's the best your father can give you." He snarled and yanked his mussed-up robe out of Hagrid's meaty fist. He grabbed his son by the arm and started leaving.

"Mister Malfoy!" A lightly-smirking Harry called out to him, "I quite like your cane. Where did you get it?" Harry knew full well that Malfoy's wand was hidden inside. He could feel it, as well as some other enchantments on it.

Malfoy fought for control of his face, "It is a family heirloom," He said finally, "And it is not a cane, _boy_ , it's a walking stick." And he left without another word.

"No!" Tracey said sharply when Harry turned around, "You cannot have a pimp cane Harry!"

Cassie choked, "Do you actually know what that means, young lady, and if you do where did you hear it?" Tracey smirked unrepentantly at her mother. She casually looked around at the fallen books with an angelic look on her face.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," Hagrid interrupted them as he almost lifted Mr. Weasley off his feet while straightening his robes, "Rotten ter the core, the whole family. Everyone knows that! No Malfoy's worth listenin' ter. Bad blood, that's what it is. Come on now, let's get outta here."

The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. Harry and his group went an entirely different direction as they left as well, though Harry could still hear the matriarch lambasting her husband, "A fine example to set for your children… _brawling_ in public… _what_ Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought!"

"Who cares!" Fred's fading voice was still tinged with excitement, "Did you see Harry throw him like twenty feet? He'll probably work that in as a publicity stunt! I think I heard him telling the photo bloke if they could work the fight in…"

Harry heard no more as they gathered around the portkey and vanished off across the country. Now in private, Alex and Beorn both pulled Harry away from the group for a moment, "That's a dangerous individual to play such games with, Harry." Alex said. Beorn nodded with a troubled look on his face.

"Listen kid, we all know what it's like to be your age. You all think you're invincible." Beorn patted Harry on the shoulder, "Trust us, you're not." He said dryly as he pulled his shirt's collar down and displayed a massive scar under his collarbone, "Lucius Malfoy is a dangerous enemy to make." He said sternly, "Not only for yourself, but for our girls as well." Harry's face turned chagrined now, "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you _can_ protect yourself far better than we suspect. I rather doubt it, but it's a possibility. But our girls can _not_."

Harry winced, "Sorry Beorn." He struggled for a moment, before confessing, "I'm…not used to having to worry about other people. I'm sure Daphne and Tracey have at least mentioned _that_."

"Ah yes." Alex had an ugly sneer marring his features, "Your _family_." He spat the word like a curse. He shook his head, "I get it Harry. We understand. But you have to _think_ before you start making enemies like that."

"Sorry Alex." Harry sighed, genuinely regretting his actions now.

"Don't say sorry." Beorn shook his head, " Sorry gets no one anything. Now you must take responsibility and fix the problem. That does not mean you have to apologize." His lip twitched, "That would probably kill you." They shared a chuckle, "No, you have to make sure to keep the girls training as hard as they feel comfortable with, and you need to be watching their backs. I don't think that Malfoy will actually do anything any time soon, and especially not against Daphne, Tracey, or the twins. He knows full well that _we_ will know if he does, and he is _terrified_ of us. That's the only reason we aren't screaming at you right now, for the record. But all the same, keep an eye out. Malfoy will _not_ forget this, and Hermione doesn't have a big shield the way the other girls do."

"I will." Harry said darkly, his eyes blazing. If a single hair was put out of place on Hermione's head, Malfoy Manor would _burn._

"Now," Alex said, his own not-inconsiderable power coming to bore on a now wide-eyed Harry, "What in the world makes you think you can tango with grown Death Eaters? You're twelve! No matter how old you look or how strong you think you are, that's insane!"

Harry lost his look of shock. Alex had one of the most powerful aura's he'd felt, by far. He wasn't about to show them his other half, but he could show something else. He grinned lightly as he slowly unbuckled his vambrace and slipped it off his arm. The two grown men choked.

 **-]|[-**

Two weeks later, and the summer break was over. Harry pouted outrageously when he noticed the girls packing their one-piece suits rather than bikinis. Still, he didn't make a fuss over it. They were up at dawn and made it to the platform with more than enough time to spare. Well, other than actually getting Daphne out of her furious zombie-like harpy state. That ate up most of the time involved, and they still made it onto the train with about two hours to spare. They were relaxing and idly reviewing spells from last year – which they would no doubt be quizzed on – when they saw the Weasley horde making their way onto the platform.

Harry snorted, "Are they really purebloods? Why in the world haven't they shrunken their trunks?"

"Neither did you." Parvati smirked at him pointedly.

He raised an eyebrow, " _I_ can carry all of our trunks and the only reason I would even need to pay attention is so I don't drop them." He deadpanned as they smirked at him, "They don't have an excuse. I really hope it's that they're lazy and not their mother meddling the way she did with Ronald."

"Honestly?" Hermione was frowning, "I wouldn't be surprised with that woman. I can't say I know her, but she didn't exactly make the best impression at Flourish and Blotts. If she followed the letter of the law with her kids on magic, then maybe she is doing the same here. It would look strange to be sending kids off in uniform without trunks."

They looked at her dully, "Then don't show up in uniform." Tracey snorted dryly.

Hermione flushed, "You know what I meant!" She pouted as her friends chuckled.

 **-]|[-**

 **Well, I decided to cut this chapter here. It was already getting more than long enough. I'll beginning tackling the year proper in the next chapter. This chapter felt vaguely fillerish to me, but it really wasn't. Or at least it wasn't supposed to be.**

 **I tried to start integrating the Patils into the core cast as well as the parents into the supporting cast. Hopefully I did a decent job with that. I'm not entirely certain I had the parents exactly the way I wanted. I would like some feedback on how I handled them.**

 **Had a great number of reviews in the last chapter. Thank you all!**

 **You all had some pretty great ideas regarding Animagus forms for the girls. Many I had already thought of myself, so it was nice to see so many others having the same train of thought. Unfortunately, Daphne was the only one to have a knockout. Her form is now decided. I also have a tentative final form for Tracey as well. I've said this to a fair number of you in PMs, but I think I need to say it here as well; I should NOT have started asking you guys about forms yet. Hermione especially was basically impossible to get something that would match her because I pulled the trigger too early on the question. But the question was asked, so I'll keep it going. Obviously, I would like some suggestions for Padma and Parvati too. (Some of you obliged on that already, even though I hadn't yet made the decision to make them main cast. Thanks for that!) In case I wasn't clear enough in the chapter, they're both elementals the same way Daphne and the Greengrass family are. They're wind and water respectively. (You'll find this is not all that uncommon in this story. I'm not certain** _ **who**_ **yet will also be getting these powers – comparable to the Logia of One Piece – but I can say that they will NOT all be friendly.)**

 **You'll note that I basically avoided the Philosopher Stone's effects on Harry. Well, not avoided, per say, since I went fairly deep into the negative short-term effects, but I did not go into any benefits. I also avoided writing about the tests Dumbledore put him though. Those are for later. All I can say is (LOL) no, Harry does not have 24 carat shit.**

 **Now, I do kind of want to address the topic of power levels. In terms of sheer power, Harry is way up there. That is why he can show off and get legitimate surprise from the adults in the story. That does not mean he could easily trash the most competent adults in a fight. Far from it. Last chapter showed Voldemort in one of the weakest forms I could have him in fighting Harry way more than evenly. If the body hadn't been falling apart (among other issues) he'd have beat Harry like a drum.** **  
**

 **Cheers everyone!**

 **Primordial**


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